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Report  and  Manual 

for 

robation  Officers 

of  the  Superior  Court 

acting  as 

Juvenile  Court  </?, 

Los  Angeles  County 
California 


1912 


UNIY& 


Published  by  the  order  of  the 

Board  of  Supervisors  of  Los  Angeles  County, 

California. 


Report  and  Manual 

for 

Probation  Officers 

of  the  Superior  Court 

acting  as 

Juvenile  Court 

Los  Angeles  County 

California 

1912 

Motto:     "Gently  to  Hear,  Kindly  to  Judge" 


Published  by  the  order  of  the 

Board  of  Supervisors  of  Los  Angeles  County 

California 


"\Yith  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,  with  firm- 
ness for  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let  us  strive 
to  finish  the  work  that  we  have  begun." — Abraham  Lincoln. 


Contents 


Introduction    3 

PART  I.— HISTORY  LAW. 

A  Letter  to  the  Governor  of  California  Concerning  the  Juvenile  Court 

Law  of  1903  (1904) 5 

Address  on  Juvenile  Court  Before  Los  Angeles  Bar  Association  (1905)   11 
Delinquent  Children — 

Address  Teachers'  Institute  (Dec.,  1905) 17 

Juvenile  Courts  and  Recent  Developments  in   Penology   (1908) 31 

Introduction  by  W.  J.  Hunsaker 31 

Address  by  Curtis  D.  Wilbur 32 

Address  by  Samuel  J.  Barrows 41 

Address  by  W.  A.  Gates 49 

The   Delinquent   Child    52 

Address  by  Curtis  D.  Wilbur,  Before  the  Fifth  California  State  Con- 
ference Charities  and  Corrections  (1908). 

Instruction  to  Probation  Officers  of  Los  Angeles  County  (1909) 56 

Instructions  to  Probation  Committee  Concerning  the  Nomination  and 

Appointment  of  Probation  Officers,  April,  1911 66 

Instruction  of  April,  1912,  to  Probation  Officers 75 

Rules  for  Guidance  of  Probation  Officers,  April,  1912 91 

Address  Willowbrook  Parent-Teachers'  Association,  January,  1912,  by 

Judge  Wilbur  95 

Addresses    to    Boys   by   the   Governor   and   Three   Judges   of   Juvenile 

Courts     112 

(a)  Address— James  N.  Gillett 112 

(b)  Address — Frank   J.    Murasky,  Judge   San   Francisco  Juvenile 

Court     114 

(c)  Address — Curtis  D.  Wilbur,  Judge  Los  Angeles  Court 118 

(d)  Address — Joseph    W.    Hughes,    Judge    Sacramento    Juvenile 
Court     123 

Report   Los   Angeles    County   Juvenile    Court    (from    Report   of   State 

Board  of  Charities  and  Corrections,  1906) 126 

Juvenile  Court  Law  of  1911  in  Full 129-147 

Child  Labor  Law  as  Amended  in  1911— Text  in  Full 148-153 

Other  Laws  Relating  to  Juvenile  Employment 154,  155,  166 

Compulsory    Education    Law 155 

PART  II. 

Hints  to  Parents  and  Probation  Officers  by  Probation  Officers,  Proba- 
tion Committee  and  Judge  of  Juvenile   Court 167-174 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


PART  III. 

Addresses  Delivered  in  September,  1906,  at  the  Fourth  California  State 

Conference  of  Charities  and  Corrections 175 

Dependent  Childhood  in  California,  by  A.  J.  Pillsbury,  Secretary  State 

Board  of  Examiners  176-189 

Child  Labor  Laws  and  Their  Enforcement,  by  W.  V.  Stafford,  State 
Commissioner  of  Labor  Statistics 190-199 

The  Juvenile  Court,  with  Special   Reference  to  Its  Ramifications,  by 

Curtis  D.  Wilbur,  Superior  Judge,  Los  Angeles  County ...  .200-207 
Probation  Work — 

By  Judge  H.  H.  Klamroth,  Pasadena 208-211 

The  Forces  Tending  to  Crime — 

By  the  Right  Rev.  Thomas  J.  Conaty,  Bishop  of  Los  Angeles. 212-220 

PART  IV. 
Adult  Probation — 

Adult     Probation 225 

The   Theory   of    Probation 229 

What  Two  Degenerates  Cost  Los  Angeles 231 

Some  Results  of  Adult  Probation,  by  Frank  R.  Willis 233-235 

A  Poem,  "Our  Father,"  by  Wm.  J.  Danford 236 

Adult  Probation  in  Los  Angeles  County,  by  Paul  McCormick. 237-241 
The  Cost  of  Sin,  by  Curtis  D.  Wilbur,  Juvenile   Court,  Los  An- 
geles   County    243-248 

Report  from  May,  1903,  to  December,  1908 248 

Report  for  Year  1904  250 

Report  for  Year  1905  128 

Report  for  Year  1908  252 

Report  for  Year  1909 255 

A  Correct  Newspaper  Report  Concerning  the  Probation  Work 

Under  A.  C.  Dodds,  Dec.  1,  1910 258 

Memorandum  Report  December,  1911 260 

Comparative  Annual  Expense  for  Salaries  Caring  for  Juveniles  and 

Adults  in  Custody  and  on  Probation 261 

Juvenile  Hall  (Detention  Home),  by  Mrs.  J.  H.  Francis 263 

Cost  of  Maintaining  Los  Angeles  County  Boys  at  State  Schools — 

Preston  and  Whittier 264 

PART  V. 

Does  the  Correction  of  Physical  Defects  of  Juvenile  Criminals  Im- 
prove Their  Moral  Conduct? 

A  Preliminary  Report  of  Some  of  the  Medical  Work  Done  in  the  Ju- 
venile Court  of  Los  Angeles  County 267 

Does  the  Correction  of  Physical  Defects  of  Juvenile  Criminals  Im- 
prove Their  Moral  Conduct,  by  John  Adams  Colliver,  B.  A., 
M.  D..  Medical  Probation  Officer,  Read  Before  the  Southern 
California  Medical  Society,  December  2,  1909 271-277 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


Does  the  Abnormal  Conditions  of  the  Teeth  Contribute  to  Juvenile 
Delinquency,  Read  Before  the  Los  Angeles  County  Dental  So- 
ciety by  John  A.  Colliver,  A.  B.,  M.  D.,  Medical  Probation  Offi- 
cer Juvenile  Court,  Los  Angeles  County 277-282 

The  Physical  Basis  for  Irritability  in  Boys,  the  Beginning  of  Juvenile 
Delinquency,  Read  Before  Riverside  County  Medical  Society, 
City  School  Board,  Teachers  and  Probation  Officers,  Riverside, 
April,  1911,  by  Dr.  John  Adams  Colliver 283-292 

The  Physician  and  the  Los  Angeles  Juvenile  Court — Medical  Side  of 
Juvenile  Court  Work — Address  by  John  Adams  Colliver,  A.  B., 
M.  D.,  Delivered  Before  the  California  State  League  of  Munici- 
palities at  San  Diego,  Nov.,  1910 295-299 

Address  of  Dr.  George  E.  Abbott,  Read  Before  the  Men's  Brother- 
hood, First  Presbyterian  Church,  Pasadena,  March,  1912 300-305 

Address  of  Mrs.  Maude  Ballington  Booth,  at  San  Quentin  Prison, 

March,  1910  306-319 

Probation  for  the  Insane,  by  Judge  Geo.  H.  Hutton,  Department  11, 

Superior  Court  323 

Probation  and  the  Child,  by  John  L.  Maile,  of  the  Probation  Com- 
mittee .  .  .322 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Judge    Curtis    D.    Wilbur Opposite  3 

Judge    Paul   J.    McCormick Opposite  237 

Judge  Frank  R.  Willis Opposite  233 

Judge  Geo.  H.  Hutton,  Now  Sitting  in  Department  11 

Hearing    Criminal   and    Insane    Cases Opposite  323 

Hugh   C.   Gibson,   Chief   Probation   Officer Opposite  75 

His    First    Offense Opposite  94 

Letter,   Permitting  Use  of,  from   Lady  Stanley Opposite  94 

Girl    Mother    Opposite  109 

Probation    Committee    Opposite  133 

Preston   State   School  Assembly   Hall Opposite  113 

Preston   State  School   Refractory   Bldg Opposite  118 

Ten  Reasons  Why  a  Boy  Does  Wrong Opposite  129 

Ten  Reasons  Why  a.  Boy  Ought  to  Do  Right Opposite  129 

Detention   Home  Committee   Board  of  Supervisors Opposite  134 

Dentention    Home,    Front Opposite  145 

Detention   Home,   Patio   Opposite   19,  262 

Detention    Home,    Rear Opposite  263 

Los  Angeles  County  Court  House  and  Hall  of  Records ...  .Opposite  209 


Roster 


CURTIS  D.  WILBUR 

Judge  Superior  Court,  Los  Angeles  County,  Acting  as  Juvenile 
Court  Judge. 

FRANK  R.  WILLIS 

Judge  of  Said  Court,  Acting  as  Presiding  Judge,  to  Whose  Depart- 
ment Criminal  Cases  Were  Assigned. 

PAUL  J.  McCORMICK 

Judge  of  Said  Court,  to  Whose  Department  Criminal  Cases  Are 

Assigned. 

GEORGE  H.  BUTTON 

Judge  of  Said  Court,  to  Whose  Department  Criminal  Cases  Are  Now 

Assigned. 

BOARD  OF  SUPERVISORS 

R.  W.  Pridham,  Chairman;  C.  D.  Manning,  H.  D.  McCabe,  S.  A.  Butler, 

C.  J.  Nellis. 

COMMITTEE  ON  DETENTION  HOME 
C.  J.  Nellis,  Chairman;  R.  W.  Pridham,  S.  A.   Butler. 

PROBATION  COMMITTEE 

E.  P.  Ryland,  Chairman;  Mrs.  O.  P.  Clark,  Mrs.  J.  H.  Francis,  Mrs.  Nora 
McCartney,  John  L.  Maile,  Delworth  W.  Beswick,  Henry  C.  Dillon. 

PROBATION  OFFICERS 

HUGH  C.  GIBSON 
Chief 

A.  C.  DODDS 
First    Assistant,    Head   of   Adult    Department. 

MRS.  FRANCES  H.  BYRAM 
Second  Assistant  Probation  Officer. 

MISS  LOUISE   BARBER  ROLAND    MURPHY 

MRS.  JENNIE  B.  BRADLEY  MRS.  E.  J.  NORVELLE 

MRS.   ANNE   DARLING  MISS  M.   M.   PARKER 

CLYDE   DOYLE  MRS.  HARRIET  PROBASCO 

RAYMOND   B.   DUNLOP  FRANK  L.  REYES 

JEXITA   HOLGATE  MRS.   HARRIET  SHAW 

ELOISE  FOR  MAX  MISS  O.  J.  SHONTS 

F.  LECLARE  PAUL  SIGLER  EDWARD  SOLOMON 

Assistant  Probation  Officers 

OFFICERS  OF  DETENTION  HOME 

(Juvenile  Hall) 
E.   B.  Eby,  Superintendent.  Mrs.  E.  B.  Eby,  Matron. 

Mr.  J.  \Y.  Libby,  Asst.  Superintendent. 
Mrs.  J.  W.  Libby,  Asst.  Matron.  J.  M.  Shipley,  First  Officer. 

TEACHERS 

Herbert   F.  Clark,   Principal  and  Ungraded  Room. 

Ray  F.  Smith,  Manual  Training.  Lillie   M.   Holt,  Clay,   Basketry. 

Walter  B.  Crane.  Grade  Work.    Catharine  A.  Turney,  Girls  and  Drawing 


JUDGE  CURTIS  D.  WILBUR 

Judtre  of  the  Juvenile  Court  of  Los  Arwles  County  since  Court 
was  organized   in   1903. 


Introduction 


This  publication  is  intended  primarily  for  the  instruction 
of  probation  officers  and  particularly  for  the  benefit  of  those 
who  may  hereafter  be  appointed  voluntary  probation  officers  in 
Los  Angeles  County,  California.  For  this  purpose  the  instruc- 
tions and  rules  for  the  government  of  the  probation  office  and  the 
probation  officers  are  given.  In  addition  thereto  the  Juvenile 
Court  Law  is  published  in  full,  the  Adult  Probation  Law  (Sec- 
tion 1203,  Penal  Code),  and  the  Child  Labor  Law  are  also  pub- 
lished in  full  for  the  guidance  of  the  probation  officers.  The 
instructions  given  to  the  probation  committee  for  the  selection 
of  probation  officers  and  the  verbal  instructions  given  in  1909  to 
the  probation  officers  are  also  printed.  In  order  to  show  the  his- 
tory of  the  work,  its  growth  and  the  accomplishment  of  things 
desired  in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  work,  addresses  and  reports 
made  from  time  to  time  since  the  commencement  of  the  Juvenile 
Court  in  1903  and  up  to  date  are  set  forth.  It  is  thought  that 
these  addresses,  many  of  them  taken  down  in  shorthand  at  the 
time,  will  not  only  make  a  more  readable  but  also  a  more  ac- 
curate index  to  the  work  that  has  been  accomplished  than  dry 
statistics.  For  the  purpose  of  showing  the  attitude  and  manner 
of  those  dealing  with  boys  and  men  in  detention,  the  addresses 
of  Judge  Hughes,  Judge  Murasky  and  Judge  Wilbur,  of  the 
Sacramento,  San  Francisco  and  Los  Angeles  Juvenile  Courts,  to 
the  cadets  at  the  Preston  School  of  Industry  are  set  forth,  and 
for  the  same  reason  an  imprinted  address  delivered  to  the 
prisoners  at  San  Quentin  prison  by  Maude  Ballington  Booth 
and  reported  stenographically  by  a  prisoner  committed  to  that 
prison  from  this  county,  are  given.  The  heretofore  unpublished 
address  of  the  late  Dr.  Barrows,  delivered  before  the  City  Club 
of  Los  Angeles  at  a  time  when  he  was  president  of  the  Interna- 
tional Congress  for  Prison  Reform,  is  given  in  order  that  the 
progress  of  the  work  generally  throughout  the  world  might  be 
noticed.  The  probation  officers  and  members  of  the  probation 
committee  have  been  asked  for  helpful  observation  in  connection 
with  the  work  in  order  that  their  experience  might  profitably  be 
drawn  upon  for  the  benefit  of  others. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


ADULT  PROBATION. 

Under  our  law  the  adults  placed  on  probation  are  under  the 
supervision  of  the  probation  officers  nominated  by  the  probation 
committee  and  appointed  by  the  judge  of  the  Juvenile  Court. 
For  that  reason  the  work  finds  place  in  this  volume.  Judges 
McCormick  and  Willis  have  kindly  furnished  statements  in 
connection  with  that  work.  Adult  probation,  properly  applied, 
is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  advanced  steps  that  has  so  far 
been  taken  along  the  line  of  reformed  criminal  procedure. 

While  this  publication  will  probably  be  of  greater  value  to 
the  probation  officers  and  those  particularly  interested  in  Juven- 
ile Court  work  and  prison  reform,  it  is  thought  that  it  will  be 
helpful  to  others  who  are  necessarily  more  or  less  unfamiliar 
with  the  actual  workings  of  the  new  system  of  probation  in 
juvenile  and  adult  cases. 

It  is  hoped  that  this  publication  will  be  ready  at  the  time 
of  the  opening  of  the  new  Detention  Home  which  will  be  the 
most  marked  step  in  advance  in  the  history  of  the  Juvenile 
Court  work  in  Los  Angeles. 

Dated  Los  Angeles,  California,  April  25,  1912. 

CURTIS  D.  WILBUR. 


A  Letter  to  the  Governor  of  California  Concern- 
ing the  Juvenile  Court  Law  of  1903 


May  3,  1904. 
Gov.  George  C.  Pardee, 

Sacramento,  California. 
Dear  Sir: 

I  take  pleasure  in  complying  with  your  request  for  a  state- 
ment in  regard  to  the  Juvenile  work.  I  shall  find  it  difficult 
within  the  limits  of  a  letter  to  adequately  portray  the  workings 
of  the  juvenile  law,  which  will  be  found  on  page  44  of  the  stat- 
utes of  1963. 

CARDINAL    PRINCIPLE    AND    METHOD. 

The  cardinal  principle  of  the  Juvenile  law  is  that  the  erring 
child  be  given  a  chance  to  reform,  and  that  chance  preferably  in 
his  own  home.  The  method  of  bringing  about  the  reform  con- 
templated by  this  law  is  a  supervision  of  the  child  on  the  part  of 
the  State  through  an  officer  denominated  "Probation  Officer." 

THE  OLD  PLAN. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  up  to  the  time  of  the  institution  of  the 
State  Schools  at  Whittier  and  Preston,  there  was  no  different 
method  of  treatment  for  a  juvenile  offender  and  an  adult,  except 
that  in  case  of  juvenile  criminals  under  fourteen  the  burden  of 
proving  a  criminal  intent  rested  upon  the  prosecution.  The 
criminal  intent  and  the  crime  being  established,  the  punishment 
to  a  minor  and  an  adult  were  the  same,  limited  only  by  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  court  as  to  the  amount.  After  the  institution  of 
reform  schools,  so-called,  upon  conviction,  or  before  conviction 
under  the  provisions  of  the  Whittier  state  law,  juveniles  charged 
with  crime  might  be  sent  to  the  State  Reform  School.  Upon 
conviction  it  was  the  duty  of  the  court  to  sentence  such  children 
to  one  of  these  institutions. 

UNDER    OLD    LAW    PUBLIC     SENTIMENT    AND     HUMANITY 

REQUIRED   PUBLIC   OFFICIALS   TO    IGNORE 

THEIR  LEGAL  DUTY. 

Such  a  system  necessarily  resulted  in  prosecuting  officers 
withholding  complaints,  where  there  had  been  plain  violations 
of  law,  in  the  dismissal  of  complaints  under  the  same  condition. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


in  judges  continuing  indefinitely  the  trial  of  cases  in  order  that 
the  children  might  work  out  their  own  salvation. 

A  SPECIFIC  INSTANCE. 

Some  years  ago  I  was  employed  by  a  school  teacher  to  de- 
fend four  boys  who  had  committed  "burglary,"  i.  e.,  they  had 
broken  into  a  suburban  grocery  store  and  stolen  some  chewing 
gum  and  candy  on  a  Sunday  afternoon,  led  by  one  of  their  num- 
ber who  was  a  vicious  lad.  Upon  arrest  of  one  of  the  boys,  he 
confessed  and  implicated  the  others,  who  also  confessed.  The 
boys  ranged  in  age  from  nine  to  twelve  years,  the  older  boy, 
however,  being  about  fifteen.  If  the  attorney  for  the  defendant 
and  the  attorney  for  the  People,  committing  magistrate,  and  the 
Superior  Judge,  whose  duty  it  was  to  deal  with  the  case,  had 
followed  the  mode  and  procedure  outlined  by  law,  the  children 
would  have  been  sent  to  \Yhittier  or  lone  during  their  minority, 
which  would  have  been  twelve  years  for  the  youngest  child 
(subject,  of  course,  to  parole).  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  boys 
were  made  to  answer,  were  brought  up  to  the  Superior  Court  for 
arraignment,  stood  in  line  while  admonished  by  the  Superior 
Judge,  who  had  been  advised  of  the  situation,  and  then  the  case 
was  indefinitely  postponed  and  the  children  allowed  to  go  during 
good  behavior — a  proceeding  wholly  unauthorized  by  law,  but 
one  which  I  am  advised  has  resulted  in  the  reformation  of  the 
children. 

THE  NEW  WAY. 

Under  the  Juvenile  law,  the  result  in  the  particular  case  cited 
would  probably  have  been  the  same,  with  two  fundamental  dif- 
ferences : 

First.  The  officers  who  brought  about  the  result  would  be 
acting  in  consonance  with  law  and  not  in  violation  thereof.  The 
chance  would  have  been  given  the  boy  by  officers  not  in  violation 
of  their  duty  to  the  state,  but  is  given  by  the  state — tending  to 
make  the  child  feel  not  that  the  state  is  a  relentless  pursuer  seek- 
ing to  administer  dire  punishment,  but  a  friend  having  at  heart 
the  welfare  of  the  child. 

The  other  fundamental  difference  between  the  extemporized 
plan  above  indicated  and  the  plan  under  the  new  law  is  that 
under  the  old  plan  the  child  was  allowed  to  go.  to  shift  for  him- 
self, under  parental  influences,  perhaps,  which  may  have  led  to 
the  commission  of  the  crime,  while  under  the  new  plan  the  pro- 
bation officer  goes  to  the  home,  finds  out  the  surroundings,  and 
keeps  track  of  the  boy  until  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  it  is 
safe  to  finally  dispose  of  the  case.  The  supervision  of  the  state 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


is  an  ever-present  thought.  This  may  be  exercised  by  visitation 
by  the  probation  officer,  by  requiring  the  child  to  make  frequent 
reports,  or  in  other  ways  which  may  hereafter  be  indicated. 

Note  another  difference  between  the  old  and  the  new  way, 
namely :  Under  the  new  plan,  officers  will  not  hesitate  to  per- 
form their  full  duty,  the  children  will  be  brought  into  court  for 
their  first  offense,  and  thus,  before  having  become  confirmed  in 
incorrigibility,  be  admonished  of  the  penalties  for  the  violation 
of  law. 

CLASS  OF  CHILDREN  WITH  WHOM  DEALT. 

Without  attempting  statistics  or  to  more  than  in  a  general 
way  indicate  the  class  of  children  with  whom  dealt,  the  following 
general  observations  may  be  made : 

First.  In  ninety  per  cent  of  the  cases  there  is  something 
wrong  in  the  home  of  the  boy — the  father  and  mother  divorced, 
father  or  mother  living  in  adultery,  stepmother,  father  away  from 
home  a  great  deal,  mother  incompetent,  or  a  large  family. 

Second.  In  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  cases  the  parents  are  at 
a  loss  how  to  manage  their  children  and  are  glad  to  have  assist- 
ance. 

Third.  In  ninety  per  cent  of  the  cases  the  children  involved 
are  under  fourteen  years  of  age  and  this  proportion  will  probably 
be  increased. 

Fourth.  In  ninety  per  cent  of  the  cases  the  children  are 
truants  from  school. 

So  that,  while  undoubtedly  the  law  will  be  and  has  been 
criticized  as  an  invasion  of  the  rights  of  parents,  and  invasion 
of  the  home,  it  is,  in  at  least  as  high  a  percentage  as  I  have  indi- 
cated, a  very  welcome  invasion.  Indeed,  out  of  about  150  cases 
here,  I  have  in  mind  only  one  where  the  intervention  of  the  court 
was  not  welcome,  and  in  that  one,  the  intervention  was  very 
badly  needed,  and  the  children  (there  were  two  cases)  had  been 
guilty  of  crime. 

PUBLIC  OPINION  AND  CO-OPERATION. 

Some  have  thought,  and  I  have  heard  Justices  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  this  State  say  in  discussing  the  subject  with  me, 
that  the  law  was  something  of  a  fad.  It  is  a  fad,  to  the  extent 
that  it  has  aroused  great  public  interest.  Public  meetings  have 
been  held,  the  Juvenile  Board  provided  by  the  law  is  composed 
here  and  probably  elsewhere  of  some  of  the  very  best  citizens. 
Many  have  become  interested  through  the  advertisement  in  va- 
rious ways  of  the  work.  The  result  has  been  that  homes  have 
been  opened  to  erring  children,  that  many  have  extended  a  help- 


8  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


ing  hand,  and  that  the  public  has  recognized  more  fully  its  obli- 
gation to  these  children,  and  the  fact  that  it  would  not  do  in  all 
instances  to  turn  them  over  on  the  one  hand  to  the  state  or  on 
the  other  hand  to  incompetent  parents.  Sums  of  money  have 
been  subscribed  by  the  public,  and  this  public  interest  has  been 
to  my  mind  one  of  the  most  important  causes  of  the  success  of 
the  new  movement. 

THE  LOS  ANGELES  WAY. 

As  you  have  observed,  I  have  not  undertaken  to  discuss  the 
technical  phases  of  the  law.  In  Los  Angeles,  we  have  the  fol- 
lowing forces  co-operating  in  this  work:  The  Board  of  Super- 
visors of  the  County  of  Los  Angeles  has  permitted  the  use  of  the 
old  jail  for  a  detention  home.  The  City  Council  has  co-operated 
with  the  Board  of  Supervisors  and  share  the  expense  of  the  main- 
tenance of  that  home,  which  has  three  officers,  a  matron,  a  night 
and  a  day  guard.  Co-operating  with  them,  and  paid  by  volun- 
tary contributions  collected  by  the  members  of  the  Juvenile 
Board,  and  a  Chief  Probation  Officer.  It  has  been  found  necessary, 
for  the  proper  administration  of  this  detention  home,  that  a  school 
be  conducted  there.  A  school  has  been  fitted  up  at  the  joint  ex- 
pense of  the  Board  of  Supervisors  and  the  City  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, a  teacher  has  been  furnished  by  the  City  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, and  school  will  be  conducted  the  year  around  in  this  build- 
ing. The  attendance  today  is  twenty-seven.  This  institution, 
as  indicated  by  its  name  and  as  required  by  law,  is  a  mere  tem- 
porary place  of  abode  for  the  children. 

HOW  WE  DEAL  WITH  THE  CHILD. 

Assuming  the  jurisdictional  acts,  the  child  may  be  brought 
in  the  first  instance  before  the  Superior  or  a  Justice's  Court.  In 
either  event,  he  may  be  allowed  to  go  with  his  parents  on  his 
own  recognizance,  or  may  be  placed  in  the  Detention  Home  to 
await  trial.  I'pon  the  trial,  if  found  guilty,  or  to  be  a  subject 
covered  by  the  Juvenile  law,  the  child  may  be  allowed  to  go 
home  with  directions  to  attend  the  public  school  in  his  vicinity 
and  report  as  often  as  required  by  the  Probation  Officer.  If  he 
fails  to  obey  either  of  these  injunctions  he  can  be  brought  before 
the  court  for  further  order  a;id  may  be  committed  to  the  Deten- 
tion Home  for  one  or  more  weeks,  there  kept  under  observation 
by  the  officers  of  the  institution;  his  future  disposition  can  be 
determined  by  their  reports  and  by  the  general  demeanor  of  the 
boy  upon  being  brought  before  the  court.  If  the  restraint  of  the 
school  has  had  such  an  effect  as  to  apparently  justifv  the  boy 
in  returning  to  his  home,  he  may  be  returned  home  and  required 


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to  attend  the  school  in  the  Detention  Home,  and,  when  circum- 
stances justify,  may  be  allowed  again  to  return  home  and  to 
attend  his  own  school.  If,  under  the  reforming'  influences  of  the 
school  and  the  Detention  Home  and  the  supervision  of  the  Pro- 
bation Officer,  the  child  proves  incorrigible,  he  may  be  sent,  under 
the  law,  to  the  State  Schools  during  his  minority. 

IS  THE  LAW  TOO  LENIENT? 

Objection  will  be  and  has  been  made  to  the  law  on  the 
ground  that  it  is  too  lenient.  This  will  especially  come  from 
police  officers  and  other  peace  officers,  who,  at  great  trouble  to 
themselves,  succeed  in  locating  children  who  have  committed 
heinous  crimes.  Probably  the  strongest  objection  to  the  law  will 
come  from  these  sources.  The  statement  that  I  am  now  about 
to  make  in  regard  to  this  phase  of  the  law  involves  a  construc- 
tion of  the  Juvenile  law  and  the  acts  in  regard  to  Whittier  and 
lone,  particular  reference  being  made  in  this  construction  to  the 
clause  of  the  Juvenile  law  which  provides  that  nothing  therein 
contained  shall  be  deemed  to  repeal  either  of  the  last  two  men- 
tioned laws.  Under  the  Juvenile  law  and  the  other  two  statutes 
mentioned,  a  child  accused  of  burglary,  for  instance,  may  be 
brought  into  the  Justice's  Court,  placed  on  probation  there.  If 
found  incorrigible,  or  if  for  any  reason  it  is  deemed  wise,  the 
preliminary  examination  may  be  held,  the  boy  held  to  answer 
the  charge  in  the  Superior  Court,  and,  in  connection  with  such 
certification,  the  additional  certification  required  by  the  Juvenile 
law,  namely,  that  the  case  is  one  requiring  the  supervision  of  the 
Superior  Court  (in  effect).  The  child  then  comes  into  the  Su- 
perior Court  and  may  be  placed  under  probation  there  so  long 
as  it  may  be  desired  or  deemed  wise.  If  the  ordinary  influences 
of  the  Detention  Home,  and  so  forth,  prove  unavailing,  the  child 
may  be  tried  for  the  crime  before  a  jury,  and  after  judgment  sent 
to  Whittier  or  lone,  or  before  judgment  may  be  sent  under  the 
provisions  of  the  Whittier  law  to  Whittier.  If  incorrigible  there, 
he  can  be  returned  to  the  Superior  Court  for  sentence,  in  case 
he  has  been  tried  before  a  jury,  or  has  plead  guilty  or  if  he  has 
not  been  guilty  or  not  been  tried,  for  trial.  After  trial  and  upon 
sentence  he  can  be  committed  to  Folsom  or  San  Quentin. 

Sincerely  yours, 

CURTIS  D.  WILBUR. 


Juvenile  Court 

Delivered  before  the  Bar  Association  of  Los  Angeles,  1905, 
by  Judge  Curtis  D.  Wilbur. 


THE  OLD  LAW. 

Up  to  comparatively  recent  times,  so  far  as  the  law  itself 
was  concerned,  as  distinguished  from  the  methods  of  its  enforce- 
ment, no  distinction  existed  between  the  punishment  meted  out 
to  children  and  to  adults.  The  only  distinction  made  was  to  the 
character  of  the  evidence  necessary  to  convict,  a  child  under 
seven  years  of  age  being  conclusively  presumed  to  be  incapable 
of  crime,  and  a  child  over  seven  and  under  fourteen  having  the 
presumption  of  innocence  fortified  by  the  presumption  that  all 
acts  constituting  crime  were  innocently  done,  such  presumption 
being  overcome  by  proof  of  actual  knowledge  of  wrongfulness. 
Of  course  as  the  barbarity  and  extreme  cruelty  of  such  punish- 
ment became  obvious,  the  officers  sworn  to  arrest,  prosecute  and 
try  offenders,  began  to  neglect  and  evade  the  duty  imposed  upon 
them  by  law,  and  in  various  ways  overcoming  the  law.  It  is  to 
this  fact  no  doubt,  i.  e.,  that  police  officers,  peace  officers,  attor- 
neys and  judges  were  better  than  the  law,  that  we  owe  it,  that 
such  a  barbarous  state  of  legislation  was  tolerated  so  long.  Not- 
withstanding such  leniency  there  are  today  a  number  of  instances 
in  the  United  States  where  children  nine,  ten  and  eleven  years 
of  age  are  confined  in  a  state  prison. 

Under  the  old  plan  children  were  allowed  to  run  at  large 
until  they  had  become  incorrigible  criminals,  and  usually  they 
remained  such  notwithstanding  the  tardy  reformatory  measures 
adopted. 

THE  JUVENILE  COURT  LAW. 

In  1903  the  legislature  of  the  state  of  California,  following 
the  lead  of  Illinois,  Colorado,  New  York  and  other  states,  passed 
a  law  which  is  popularly  known  as  the  Juvenile  Law.  ^  This  law 
deals  exclusively  with  the  subject  of  children  under  16 
years  of  age.  'The  criticisms  of  this  law  as  a  "fad,"  and  as 
being  revolutionary  in  character,  remind  me  of  an  incident,  which 
I  trust  I  may  be  forgiven  for  telling,  viz.:  In  1901  our  legis- 
lature adopted  the  statutes  in  reference  to  code  revision.  One 
of  the  judges  dealing  with  criminal  cases  in  looking  over  the 


12  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


statutes  noted  the  provisions  of  Section  273C,  Penal  Code,  and 
sent  for  the  sheriff  and  notified  him  that  hereafter  children  under 
sixteen  years  of  age  must  not  he  confined  with  adults,  but  in  sepa- 
rate apartments  in  the  jail.  The  sheriff  posted  off  to  the  District 
Attorney  to  consult  that  officer  in  reference  to  the  "new"  law, 
and  as  to  what  changes  were  necessary  in  the  jail.  An  examina- 
tion of  the  notes  of  the  Code  commissioners  showed  that  Section 
273C  was  merely  a  codification  of  Section  4  (Statutes  1877-8)  ol 
an  act  entitled  "An  act  for  the  protection  of  wrongs  to  children, 
etc.,"  and  had  been  the  law  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
The  new  features  of  the  Juvenile  Law  lie  largely  in  the  termi- 
nology, and  in  a  more  comprehensive  plan  of  operation.  Chil- 
dren committing  crimes  are  designated  "delinquent  children"  in- 
stead of  "convicts,"  "felons,"  or  "defendants" — while  the  term 
"dependent"  children  is  applied  to  all  others  coming  within  the 
scope  of  the  act. 

HISTORY  OF  LAW. 

In  order  that  the  various  steps  leading  up  to  the  present 
law  may  be  considered  in  connection  with  the  Juvenile  Court 
Law,  I  will  briefly  indicate  these  statutes. 

In  1877-8.  the  act  "for  the  protection  of  children"  above  re- 
ferred to  was  adopted.  Section  3  of  this  act,  (statutes  1877-8, 
page  812).  contains  a  designation  of  children  under  16  years  of 
age  identical  in  language  with  the  definition  of  dependent  chil- 
dren contained  in  the  Juvenile  Law  of  1903,  as  amended  in  1905. 
The  latter  is  as  follows  : — 

DEPENDENT  CHILD. 

"For  the  purposes  of  this  act  the  words  'dependent  child' 
shall  mean  any  child  under  the  age  of  sixteen  years  that  is  found 
begging,  or  receiving  or  gathering  alms  (whether  actually  beg- 
ging or  under  the  pretext  of  selling  or  offering  for  sale  anything), 
or  being  in  any  street,  road,  or  public  place  for  the  purpose  of  so 
begging,  gathering,  or  receiving  alms;  or  that  is  found  wander- 
ing and  not  having  any  home  or  any  settled  place  of  abode,  or 
proper  guardianship,  or  visible  means  of  subsistence  ;  or  that  is 
found  destitute,  or  whose  home,  by  reason  of  neglect,  cruelty, 
or  depravity  on  the  part  of  its  parents,  guardian,  or  other  person 
in  whose  care  it  may  be,  is  an  unfit  place  for  such  child;  or  that 
trequents  the  company  of  reputed  criminals  or  prostitutes,  or 
that  is  tound  living  or  being  in  anv  house  of  prostitution,  or  assig- 
nation, or  that  habitually  visits,  without  parents  or  guardian, 
any  saloon  or  place  ol  entertainment  where  any  spirituous  liquors, 
or  wine,  or  intoxicating  or  malt  liquors  are  sold,  exchanged,  or 


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given  away,  or  who  is  incorrigible,  or  who  is  a  persistent  truant 
from  school." 

The  only  essential  addition  in  the  Juvenile  Law  is  the  phrase 
"or  who  is  incorrigible,  or  who  is  a  persistent  truant  from  school," 
though  there  is  a  slight  difference  in  phraseology. 

The  manner  of  disposition  of  these  children  in  the  law  of 
1878  and  in  the  law  of  1903,  provides  for  the  commitment  of 
such  children  to  certain  corporations,  the  law  of  1903  adding  the 
provision  that  the  child  might  be  committed  to  a  reputable  citizen 
as  well,  while  the  amendment  of  1905  permits  the  child  to  be  re- 
tained in  its  own  home  under  the  probation  officer,  in  proper 
cases. 

The  next  step  in  legislation  was  the  adoption  of  a  new  sec- 
tion in  the  Penal  Code  (Section  1388)  in  the  year  1883.  This 
section  provided  for  the  suspension  of  sentence  in  felony  and 
misdemeanor  cases  where  minors  were  involved,  and  their  com- 
mitment for  two  months  to  a  "strictly  nonsectarian  charitable 
corporation  conducted  for  the  purpose  of  reclaiming  criminal 
minors,"  and  thereafter  for  a  longer  period  if  reclamation  seemed 
probable. 

This  was  followed,  in  1889,  by  the  law  establishing  the  Pres- 
ton State  School  of  Industry,  for  minors  under  18  years  of  age 
convicted  of  a  felony  or  misdemeanor.  In  1893  by  the  law  estab- 
lishing a  state  school  at  Whittier  for  children  charged  with  crime, 
wrho  waived  that  stigma  of  conviction,  and  asked  to  be  committed 
thereto,  including  also  those  convicted,  and  adding  for  the  first 
time  a  provision  for  incorrigible  children,  "children  who  had 
passed  beyond  the  control  of  their  parents,  and  a  regard  for  whose 
welfare  required  incarceration  in  the  institution." 


It  would  be  neither  profitable  nor  appropriate  to  go  into  the 
details  of  these  acts,  nor  to  point  out  nice  distinctions  between 
them  and  the  present  Juvenile  Law.  Enough  has  been  said  to 
show  that  for  many  years  the  law  has  sought  to  take  cognizance 
of  and  deal  with  the  class  of  children  covered  by  the  Juvenile 
Law,  and  that  in  a  way  different  from  others,  charged  with  the 
same  offense. 

NEW   FEATURES    OF  JUVENILE   LAW. 

The  features  of  the  Juvenile  Law,  which  are  new,  are  as 
follows  : — • 

1.  The  use  of  an  officer  called  the  Probation  Officer  to  in- 
vestigate the  case  of  the  child  before  it  comes  up  for  trial.  lie  is 
directed  to  "inquire  into  the  child's  antecedents,  character,  his- 


14  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

tory,  family  environment,  and  the  cause  of  delinquency  or  de- 
pendency, and  make  a  report  thereon  in  writing  to  the  judge." 
He  is  to  represent  the  interests  of  the  child  on  the  hearing,  to 
assist  the  court  at  the  hearing  and  to  take  charge  of  the  child  if 
committed  to  him. 

2.  The  opportunity   to   leave   the  dependent  or  delinquent 
child  in  his  own  home,  during  the  probationary  period,  and  the 
placing  of  the  child  in  the  home  of  a  reputable  citizen  willing  to 
take  the  child. 

3.  The  establishing  of  a  committee  for  the  purpose  of  in- 
vestigating the  corporations  and  individuals  taking  children. 

4.  The  establishing  of  a  larger,  more  flexible  and  continuing 
discretion  in  the  court,  and  the  provision  for  the  first  time  of  a 
comprehensive  procedure  for  dealing  with  such  cases. 

The  general  purpose  of  the  act  is  thus  well  stated  in  Sec- 
tion 20  thereof. 

This  act  is  to  be  liberally  construed  to  the  end  that  its  pur- 
pose may  be  carried  out,  to-wit :  "that  the  care,  custody  and 
discipline  of  a  child  shall  approximate  as  nearly  as  may  be  that 
which  should  be  given  by  its  parents.  And  in  all  cases  where 
it  can  properly  be  done,  the  child  be  placed  in  an  approved  family, 
with  people  of  the  same  religious  belief,  and  become  a  member 
of  the  family  by  legal  adoption." 

PUBLIC  OPINION. 

The  real  significance  of  the  Juvenile  Court  Law  lies  in  an 
awakened  public  conscience,  and  its  successful  operation  in  the 
continued  interest  of  the  people.  Homeless  children  there  are 
in  plenty,  but  the  kind-hearted  citizen  must  supply  the  home. 
Hence  the  agitation  of  these  questions,  and  the  fact  that  the 
judges  who  preside  over  such  courts  are  frequently  called  upon 
to  speak  to  an  awakened  people,  and  to  urge  them  to  assist  in 
caring  for  these  children  before  they  have  become  hardened  and 
continued  criminals. 

THE  CALIFORNIA  LAW. 

Unlike  the  law  in  other  jurisdictions,  the  Juvenile  Law  of 
California  is  uniform  in  its  operation,  each  justice  of  the  peace 
having  the  power  to  place  delinquents  on  probation,  certifying 
them  to  the  Superior  Court  only  when  it  is  found  necessary  to 
take  them  out  of  their  own  homes  and  place  them  in  some  institu- 
tion or  with  some  family.  The  Probation  Officer  is  appointed  by 
the  Juvenile  Committee,  subject  to  the  approval  of  a  majority  of 
the  Judges  of  the  Superior  Court  while  the  Juvenile  Committee  is 
appointed  by  a  majority  of  the  Judges.  All  of  these  officers  serve 


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without  pay  except  such  pay  as  may  be  provided  by  private  sub- 
scription. The  Juvenile  Committee  has  raised  some  $4000  or 
$5000  by  private  subscription  to  assist  in  the  work,  but  happily 
the  salary  of  the  Probation  Officers  in  this  county  is  now  made  a 
county  charge,  and  the  donation*  made  may  be  applied  to  the 
needs  of  the  children. 

The  new  law  makes  provision  for  a  place  to  be  called  a  De- 
tention Home,  under  the  county  or  city  or  both,  in  lieu  of  a  jail 
for  these  children. 

WHAT  THE  LAW  MEANS. 

The  Juvenile  Court  presents  each  boy  before  the  court  as  a 
problem  for  solution,  the  solution  sought  being  the  reformation 
of  the  boy  and  his  reclamation  as  a  good  citizen.  Heretofore  the 
court  has  been  concerned  with  only  one  question,  "guilty"  or 
"not  guilty."  The  disposition  of  the  child  has  been  an  entirely 
mechanical  matter  so  far  as  the  Judge  is  concerned.  The  task 
of  Poo  Bah  —  "to  make  the  punishment  fit  the  crime"  is  an  easy 
one  compared  to  the  task  presented  to  the  Judge  of  the  Juvenile 
Court,  to  make  the  punishment  fit  the  child,  and  at  the  same 
time  be  an  adequate  deterrent  to  the  child  and  to  other  children. 

The  law  eliminates  the  indirect  consequences  of  a  convic- 
tion of  crime,  i.  e.,  the  disqualification  to  be  an  elector  and  offi- 
cer, and  the  possibility  of  the  impeachment  as  a  witness.  Could 
there  be  any  greater  reproach  to  our  system  of  dealing  with  crim- 
inals than  the  fact  that  the  conviction  of  a  felony  is  to  be  looked 
upon  at  all  times  in  court  as  evidence  that  the  convict  is  an  un- 
regenerate  liar.  Could  a  system  more  cruel  and  barbarous  be  de- 
vised to  hold  a  man  from  reform  than  the  system  requiring  a 
man  ta  confess  his  shame  publicly,  on  all  occasions  where  he  may 


ta 
b 


have  been  dragged  into  court,  as  a  witness,  no  matter  how  un- 
willingly. 

So  it  has  come  to  pass  that  while  all  lawyers  have  quietly 
consented  to  the  barbarity  of  sending  a  child  whose  tendencies 
were  all  good  but  who  had  committed  a  felony,  to  a  States  Prison 
or  reformatory,  many  are  now  shocked  at  the  idea  of  taking  the 
child  away  from  his  parents  and  giving  him  to  another  home, 
and  therefore  the  law  has  been  superficially  criticised  by  them 
as  too  great  an  interference  with  the  rights  of  parents. 

THE  REAL  DANGER. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  great  danger  has  been  that  parents 
might  too  readily  surrender  to  charity  or  state  control  the  child 
whose  waywardness  had  become  too  great  a  burden.  This  is  the 
real  danger  to  be  apprehended.  T  am  glad  to  say  that  the  last 


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legislature  has  authorized  the  court  to  direct  the  parents  to 
sustain  the  child  at  all  times  while  in  custody,  and  to  enforce 
such  order  by  contempt  proceedings.  *  *  *  . 

LAWYERS. 

With  reference  to  lawyers  appearing  in  the  Juvenile  Court. 
It  lias  been  frankly  said  by  some  Judges  in  Juvenile  Courts  that 
they  have  no  use  for  lawyers  in  their  courts. 

This  attitude  seems  to  be  in  violation  of  the  spirit  of  the 
law  and  the  rights  of  the  child,  its  parents  and  attorney.  For 
my  own  part,  I  am  not  only  disposed  to  heartily  acquiesce  in 
this  right  but  to  welcome  the  appearance  of  an  attorney  as  a  friend 
in  the  time  of  trouble. 


Judge  Ben  B.  Lindsey  Says: 

The  best  time  to  handle  a  man  is  when  he  is  a  boy. 

The  purpose  of  the  juvenile  court  is  to  combine  love  with 
the  law. 

It  is  possible  to  accomplish  much  more  through  love  than 
by  force,  violence,  fear  and  hate. 

A  boy  should  be  taught  to  do  right  because  he  should  want 
to  do  right. 

Once  you  get  a  child  to  attend  school  regularly,  you  have 
the  solution  of  the  delinquent  child  problem. 

Parents  who  send  their  boy  to  a  saloon,  or  allow  their  girl 
to  attend  dance  halls,  should  be  taken  before  a  juvenile  court  and 
put  on  probation. 

We  should  never  charge  a  child  with  crime.  Hold  his  par- 
ents or  guardians  legally  responsible. 

Kvery  case  that  pertains  to  a  child  must  be  tried  in  a  juv- 
enile court.  This  means  that  if  a  man  strikes  a  boy  or  sells  him 
cigarettes  or  liquor,  the  man  is  tried  in  that  court.  ' 

The  children  should  be  taught  to  respect  the  officers  of  the 
law.  and  not  to  fear  them. 

A  boy's  physical  condition  is  often  responsible  for  his  mis- 
behavior. 


Delinquent  Children 

An  address  by  Judge  Curtis  D.  Wilbur  at  the  Teachers'  In- 
stitute in  the  Polytechnic  High  School,  December  21st,  1905. 

Solomon  said  that  there  was  nothing  new  under  the  sun, 
but  he  evidently  had  never  been  run  over  by  a  Los  Angeles  street 
railway  car  or  attempted  to  make  a  connection  with  an  automatic 
telephone.  However,  it  seems  to  me  that  Solomon  was  right 
with  reference  to  the  Juvenile  Court,  because  if  you  will  turn 
to  [one  of  the  earlier  chapters  of]  Deuteronomy  (21 :18-21)  you 
will  find  an  account  of  the  first  Juvenile  Court  and  of  the  very 
effective  and  expeditious  method  of  dealing  with  juvenile  offend- 
ers. I  will  not  undertake  to  give  you  the  exact  language,  but  the 
thought  is  this :  Where  a  father  and  mother  find  that  they  have 
an  incorrigible  son  who  will  not  hearken  to  them  after  he  has 
been  chastened ;  they  shall  bring  him  before  the  elders,  and  he 
shall  be  taken  out  beyond  the  gate  of  the  city  and  there  stoned 
until  he  dies.*  Now,  I  do  not  advocate  returning  to  that  system, 
but  it  has  some  advantages,  more,  perhaps,  than  I  would  care  to 
speak  of  here.  For  one  thing,  it  disposes  forever  of  the  juvenile 
offender.  (Laughter.) 

The  subject  given  me  is  "Delinquent  Children,"  and  that 
necessarily  turns  our  attention  to  the  Juvenile  Court  Law  and 
for  the  reason  that  the  word  has  been  coined,  so  far  as  its  appli- 
cation to  children  is  concerned,  by  the  Juvenile  Court  Law. 
Heretofore  delinquent  children  have  been  called  robbers,  high- 

*TJhis  law  was  enacted  as  a  statute  by  the  Puritans  of  New  Haven 
Colony. 

"If  any  Child,  or  Children,  above  sixteen  years  old,  and  of  compe- 
tent understanding,  shall  curse,  or  smite,  his,  her  or  their  naturall  father, 
or  mother,  each  such  Child  shall  be  put  to  death.  (Exod.  21,  17;  Levit. 
20,  9;  Exod.  21,  15),  unlesse  it  be  proved,  that  the  Parents  have  been 
yery  unchristianly  negligent  in  the  education  of  such  Child,  or  Children, 
or  so  provoked  them  by  extream  and  cruell  correction,  or  usage,  That 
they  have  been  urged  or  forced  thereunto,  to  preserve  themselves  from 
death  or  maiming. 

If  any  man  have  a  stubborn  Rebellious  Son,  of  sufficient  Age  and 
understanding,  namely  sixteen  years  old,  or  upward,  which  will  not 
obey  the  voyce  of  his  father,  or  the  voyce  of  his  mother,  and  that  when 
they  have  chastned  him,  will  not  hearken  unto  them,  then  shall  his  father 
and  his  mother  (being  his  naturall  Parents)  lay  hold  on  him,  and  bring 
him  to  the  Magistrates  assembled  in  Court,  and  testifie  unto  them,  that 
their  Son  is  stubborn  and  rebellious,  and  will  not  obey  their  voyce  and 
chastisement,  but  lives  in  sundry  notorious  crimes;  such  a  Son  shall  be 
put  to  death.  Deut.  21-18,  19,  20,  21." 


18  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


waynien,  burglars,  and  criminals,  just  the  same  as  we  have  called 
the  adults.  Not  only  have  they  been  called  so,  but  they  have 
been  tried  in  the  same  manner  and  convicted  of  the  same  offense 
and  subjected  to  the  same  penalty.  Will  you  please  bear  that  in 
mind,  "subjected  to  the  same  penalty."  For  it  is  only  in  the  last 
twenty-five  or  thirty  years  that  the  child,  whether  seven  years 
old  or  seventeen  years  old,  convicted  of  a  crime,  was  treated  in 
any  manner  different  from  the  adult,  after  he  was  once  convicted. 
However,  the  Juvenile  Court  Law  has  taken  a  new  view  of  the 
situation,  but  before  entering'  upon  that  subject,  I  wish  to  speak 
to  you  of  the  machinery  of  the  Juvenile  Court. 

1  just  came  from  another  room  in  this  building  where  a 
teacher  stated  that  she  wished  they  had  a  juvenile  court  in  Santa 
Barbara  County.  I  informed  the  teachers  that  there  was  a 
juvenile  court  in  Santa  Barbara  County;  not  only  in  Santa  Bar- 
bara County,  but  in  every  county  in  the  state,  and  not  only  in 
every  county  in  the  state,  but  also  in  every  township  of  the 
state;  so  if  the  juvenile  court  work  is  not  being  undertaken  in 
any  county  it  is  the  fault  of  the  people ;  it  is  the  fault  of  the 
women.  (Laughter.)  Because  the  juvenile  court  work  will  rest 
very  largely  upon  the  interest  taken  by  the  women  in  the  work. 
The  new  officer  which  is  given  us  by  the  juvenile  court 
law  is  the  probation  officer.  \Ye  have  in  Los  Angeles  City  two 
paid  probation  officers.*  In  San  Francisco  they  have  no 
probation  officers  paid  by  the  public.*  In  addition  to  the 
probation  officers,  whose  duties  I  will  discuss  in  brief  in  a  mo- 
ment, we  have  co-operating  with  us  in  Los  Angeles  City,  the 
truant  officer  of  the  Los  Angeles  city  schools.  We  have  also  the 
officer  of  the  Humane  Society,  who  has  taken  up  the  work  under 
the  direction  of  that  society,  and  the  society  itself  is  co-operating 
with  us  and  assisting  in  the  solution  of  the  problems  which  con- 
front the  Juvenile  Court.  \Ye  have  what  we  call  the  Detention 
Home,  but  just  at  present  it  is  without  an}'  "home"  and  is  domi- 
ciled in  the  contagious  ward  at  the  County  Hospital.  I  said  the 
other  day,  jokingly,  that  it  was  a  very  good  place  for  it,  and  I 
think  so.  The  trouble  with  sin  is  that  it  is  contagious.  In  the 
Detention  Home  we  have  the  matron  and  two  guards  and  the 
probation  officers,  who  have  their  offices  at  the  Home.  \Ye  are 
planning — I  say  "we"  because  we  are  all  working  together — a 
Parental  School  in  the  city  and  a  new  Detention  Home.T 
Last  to  be  named,  but  first  in  fact,  we  have  the  public  schools 

*Xow  twenty. 
*Now  seven. 

t\Ve   have   occupied   the    Parental    School    now   three   years,   and   are 
just  moving  into  a  new  $125,000  Juvenile   Hall. 


x^ 


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Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  19 

of  the  City  of  Los  Angeles.  You  may  think  that  I  am  assuming 
some  degree  of  importance  in  claiming  the  public  schools  of  the 
City  of  Los  Angeles,  but  the  fact  is,  that  the  public  schools  of  the 
city,  as  I  will  show  you  in  a  few  minutes,  are  the  most  important 
factors  in  the  juvenile  court  work.  Then  we  have,  not  as  a  last 
resort,  but  as  nearly  the  last  resort,  the  Whittier  State  School ; 
and  then  the  Preston  State  School  of  Industry  at  lone,  and  be- 
yond that,  looming  in  the  distance  (fortunately)  we  have  our  two 
penitentiaries.  Under  the  juvenile  court  plan,  a  boy  that  once 
gets  into  the  juvenile  court  is  liable  to  bring  up  in  any  of  these 
institutions.  We  work  in  the  hope,  however,  that  he  will  not 
come  to  the  ultimate  limit. 

Let  me  say,  generally,  that  the  plan,  or  aim,  of  the  juvenile 
court  system  is  as  follows :  To  reform  a  boy  so  that  he  may 
meet  the  temptations  of  his  natural  environment ;  to  change  that 
environment  only  when  necessary,  and  to  avoid  the  artificial  en- 
vironment as  far  as  possible.  That  is,  to  change  the  boy  in  his 
own  home,  to  change  the  boy  in  his  own  school.  In  a  school 
like  Whittier  there  are  necessarily  many  defects,  but  the  funda- 
mental and  primary  defect  is  that  we  take  a  boy  away  from  home 
life  and  the  life  of  the  citizen  as  it  is  lived  day  by  day  and  place 
him  for  a  number  of  years  away  from  his  usual  temptations  and 
surroundings.  Then,  the  graduate  at  twenty-one  (a  boy  orig- 
inally defective,  a  boy  originally  on  the  under  side  of  life)  is 
turned  out  into  that  life  with  all  its  temptations.  Of  course, 
fitting  in  here  is  the  parole  system,  which  I  will  not  take  time  to 
set  forth,  except  to  say  that  the  real  solution  of  the  Whittier 
problem  is  to  take  the  boys  out  as  soon  as  they  have  learned  their 
lesson  and  put  them  in  some  private  home,  their  own,  perhaps, 
and  try  them  there. 

The  Juvenile  Court  Law  divides  the  children  which  come 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court  into  two  classes — the  depend- 
ent class  and  the  delinquent  class.  The  delinquent  class  are 
those  that  have  violated  some  ordinance  or  law,  and  comprises 
every  boy  from  the  boy  that  spits  on  the  sidewalk  in  violation  of 
an  ordinance,  to  the  boy  who  commits  any  heinous  crime  short 
of  murder.  (Under  our  law  any  offense  which  is  punishable  by 
death  cannot  be  brought  into  the  juvenile  court).  The  dependent 
class — and  I  take  it  that  the  purpose  in  having  such  a  name  as 
"dependent  children"  was  to  have  a  name  less  harsh  than  delin- 
quent for  a  class  of  children  who  were  not  to  blame  for  their 
coming  into  court.  (However,  I  think  it  might  truthfully  be 
said  of  most  children  who  come  into  the  juvenile  court  that  they 
are  not  to  blame.) 


20  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


Let  me  give  you  the  general  classes  of  children  who  come 
under  the  head  of  dependents. 

VAGRANTS 

There  is  nothing  in  the  Juvenile  Court  work  that  has 
astonished  me  as  much  as  the  fact  that  there  are  children  va- 
grants. I  have  in  mind  one  boy  nine  years  old  who  had  been 
into  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  who  was  so  thoroughly  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  wandering  that  he  never  stayed  anywhere  he 
was  put  until  we  finally  sent  him  to  Whittier,  and  there  he  is 
now  about  eleven  years  old  and  has  never  made  any  effort  to 
run  away  from  that  place.*  I  might  tell  you  interesting  incidents 
of  these  child  vagrants,  but  1  can't  take  the  time  nor  would  you 
have  the  time  to  give  to  me. 

TRUANTS. 

The  largest  class,  which  is  particularly  interesting  to 
you  in  view  of  the  fact  that  many  of  you  are  teachers,  is  the 
class  of  persistent  truants  from  school.  We  have  two  statutes 
dealing  with  that  question.  One  is  the  parental  school  law, 
which  is  special  in  its  application  to  Los  Angeles  City  and  San 
Francisco;  and  the  other,  the  juvenile  court  law,  which,  as  I  have 
said,  is  general  throughout  the  state  and  makes  any  child  who 
is  a  persistent  truant  a  dependent  child;  and,  of  course,  he  can 
be  brought  into  the  court  for  that  truancy  and  dealt  with  by 
the  machinery  of  the  juvenile  court. t 

UNFIT.  HOMES. 

Another  class — the  class  of  children  of  unfit  parents  and  in 
unfit  surroundings.  I  am  not  using  the  language  of  the  statute, 
and  if  the  court  reached  out  and  took  jurisdiction  of  every  child 
of  unfit  parents  and  of  unfit  surroundings  the  hands  of  the  judge 
would  be  even  fuller  than  at  present. 

INCORRIGIBLE  CHILDREN. 

Let  me  remind  you  that  there  is  very  little  real  difference  be- 
tween a  delinquent  and  dependent  child.  Certainly  an  incorrigible 
son  is  infinitely  worse  than  a  boy  that  spits  on  the  sidewalk,  and 
thereby  violates  a  city  ordinance.  Xot  only  that,  but  any  chil- 
dren that  we  speak  of  as  dependents  are  usually  delinquents  as 
well,  if  they  are  old  enough.  ( )f  course,  we  have  had  depend- 
ent children  in  court  that  were  less  than  a  year  old,  and  you 
could  hardly  class  them  as  delinquents,  but  when  -a  boy  com- 

*This  t)o>-  would  now  be  sent  to  an  orphan  asylum,  to  the  Parental 
School  or  to  the  Strickland  Home  for  Roys. 

t(1912)  Los  Angeles  is  now  solving  this  problem  by  its  special 
schools,  and  a  special  department,  with  truant  officers. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  21 

mences  to  run  away  from  home,  staying  out  nights  and  stay- 
ing away  from  school,  it  doesn't  take  a  prophet  nor  the  son  of 
a  prophet  to  tell  what  is  coming.  (Even  the  judge  of  the  juvenile 
court  can  tell  that.)  I  have  in  mind  the  case  of  a  boy — I  had 
thought  to  give  his  name,  but  I  will  refrain,  because  he  might 
be  known  to  some  of  you,  or  his  mother  might,  and  I  am  satis- 
fied she  is  a  splendid  good  woman.  That  boy  had  the  most 
peculiar  disposition  of  any  child,  I  think,  with  whom  I  have  ever 
had  to  deal.  He  would  stay  away  from  home  a  week  at  a  time. 
What  would  he  do?  Why,  he  would  go  out  by  himself  to  sleep  on 
a  vacant  Iqt ;  he  would  do  nothing  wrong,  so  far  as  we  could  deter- 
mine. Of  course,  the  time  came  when  he  got  into  trouble — com- 
mitted a  burglary — three  burglaries  in  one  night,  with  another 
boy ;  but  he  wasn't  any  different  boy  after  he  did  that  than  be- 
fore. Under  the  law,  however,  before  the  burglary  he  would  be 
called  a  dependent  child  and  afterward  a  delinquent  child. 

There  is  an  important  distinction  in  law  between  the  two 
classes.  The  dependent  child  must  be  brought,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, in  the  Superior  Court.  That  is,  the  truant,  the  incorri- 
gible, the  vagrant,  the  child  of  unfit  parents,  must  come  in  the 
first  instance,  before  the  Superior  Court.  The  delinquent  child, 
arrested  by  the  ordinary  processes  of  a  justice  court,  or  police 
court,  is  brought,  in  the  first  instance,  before  that  court.*  Now, 
let  me  further  impress  that  by  saying  that  therein  lies  one  of 
the  great  distinctions  between  our  own  law  and  that  of  other 
states.  Justice  Chambers  is  acting  as  the  Juvenile  Court  judge 
of  the  Police  Court.  The  justice  is  as  much  a  Juvenile  Court 
judge  as  I  am,  and  has  probably  dealt  with  as  many  children  as 
I  have.  In  putting  them  on  probation  he  may  put  them  in  the 
charge  of  the  Superior  Court  probation  officer,  he  can  require 
them  to  report  to  him,  he  can  talk  with  them  and  influence  them 
as  best  he  may,  and  he  is  not  required  under  the  law,  nor  is  he 
authorized  to  send  that  child  to  the  Superior  Court  until  he  is 
satisfied  of  one  of  two  things  :  That  the  child  must  be  taken  out 
of  his  own  home  and  placed  in  other  surroundings,  or  that  he 
must  be  sent  to  a  reform  school,  upon  certification  of  which 
facts  the  case  is  transferred  to  the  Superior  Court.  I  speak  of 
this  because  of  a  letter  received  a  few  days  ago  from  one  of  the 
superintendents  of  schools  in  this  county,  which  disclosed  the 
fact,  that,  although  he  had  heard  me  speak  at  least  once  on  the 
subject,  he  had  not  fully  understood  this  point. 

Xow,  let  me  say,  in  regard  to  the  juvenile  law,  that  while 
the  change  has  not  been  as  tremendous  as  some  have  thought, 


*Xo\v  brought  before  the  Superior  Court  in  the  first  instance. 


22  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


there  has  been  a  very  important  change.  And  when  you  are  deal- 
ing with  children  sometimes  the  seemingly  unimportant  becomes 
vastly  important.  Under  our  old  plan  the  jail  and  the  state  were 
the  bugaboo.  They  will  always  be,  of  course,  to  some  extent, 
but  under  the  new  plan  the  state  says  to  the  delinquent  child — 
the  boy  who  has  committed  burglary,  the  boy  who  has  com- 
mitted robbery,  or  the  boy  who  has  stolen  a  mince  pie,  or  what- 
ever the  offense  may  be — "I  am  your  friend."  The  state  says 
through  its  juvenile  court  officers,  "Our  purpose  is  not  to  punish 
you  for  what  you  have  done ;  we  can't  undo  it.  Our  purpose  is 
to  make  a  man  of  you.  Our  purpose  is  to  see  that  you  do  right, 
and  when  you  do  right  we  are  satisfied,  and  until  you  do,  we  are 
not  satisfied."  We  want  the  strong  arm  of  the  law  to  stand  guard 
over  the  child;  and  we  want  it  to  be  a  strong  arm.  We  want 
the  child  to  feel  that  the  whole  power  of  the  great  State  of  Cali- 
fornia is  reaching  out  toward  him  with  this  determination  ;  that 
if  he  does  wrong  he  will  be  followed  until  he  changes  his  course, 
no  matter  where  he  goes — that  he  will  be  restrained  and  con- 
trolled until  his  manhood  is  established,  no  matter  what  is  essen- 
tial to  awake  his  manhood ;  and  that  if  he  does  right  the  grasp 
will  be  released  until  the  strong  arm  of  the  state  merely  holds 
over  him  a  protecting  shield,  which  will  guard  him  from  the  evil 
deeds  of  wrongdoers. 

THE  CAUSES. 

I  suppose  if  a  thousand  speakers  should  stand  before  you, 
they  would  give  a  thousand  causes  for  juvenile  delinquency  and 
the  chances  are  they  would  every  one  of  them  be  wrong.  There 
is  only  one  cause  of  delinquency,  and  that  is  sin.  There  is  only 
one  cure  for  delinquency,  and  that  is  regeneration.  Even  the 
power  of  God  cannot  turn  a  man  about  from  wrong  to  right ;  he 
must  do  it  himself.  We  have  the  record,  if  I  may  say  it  and  say 
it  reverently,  of  the  greatest  failure  in  the  world,  when  God  sent 
a  flood  to  destroy  all  the  people  in  the  world,  except  one  family, 
because  of  sin.  Sin  is  a  tremendous  problem  not  to  be  solved 
by  any  individual  in  any  short  time.  It  is  the  problem  of  life. 
The  great  conflict  of  life  is  the  conflict  between  sin  and  righteous- 
ness— a  conflict  in  the  heart  of  each  individual.  The  battlefield 
is  there.  That  is  the  problem  in  politics.  How  shall  we  solve  it? 
Just  by  trying  over  and  over  again. 

THE  CHANGE. 

Another  great  distinction  between  the  juvenile  court  system 
and  the  old  system  is  this:    L'nder  the  old  system  we  didn't  tr". 
If  your  boy  entered  anybody's  house  and  took  a  five  cent  piece 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  23 


he  was  guilty  of  burglary.  If  that  was  reported  to  the  police 
under  the  law  they  had  only  one  duty  to  perform.  (Of  course, 
they  didn't  perform  it.  Don't  forget  that.)  But  under  the  law 
they  had  a  duty  to  perform,  namely,  to  file  a  complaint.  The 
complaint  filed,  the  judge  had  a  duty  to  perform.  What?  Namely, 
to  send  the  boy  to  San  Quentin.  Later  on,  as  our  reform  schools 
were  instituted,  he  was  sent  to  the  reform  school,  instead  of  the 
penitentiary.  There  was  no  alternative  under  the  law.  Now,  we 
try  to  treat  a  boy  just  as  a  doctor  does.  Here  is  a  boy  that  is 
sick.  It  makes  no  difference  to  the  doctor  whether  he  has  a  sore 
throat,  or  fever,  or  a  chill,  whether  his  face  is  flushed  or  pale,  ex- 
cept as  it  is  a  symptom — a  key  to  a  diagnosis  of  the  case.  I 
think  that  we  may  truthfully  say  that  the  effort  of  the  juvenile 
court  is  to  diagnose  the  case  of  the  boy  and  to  try  and  find  a 
remedy.  What  shall  the  remedy  be?  Every  one  of  you  know 
of  boys,  and  perhaps  you  have  some  in  your  own  family,  to  whom 
the  mere  fact  of  being  brought  into  court  would  be  a  sufficient 
deterrent  from  further  offenses.  Every  one  of  you  know  of  boys 
who  if  they  are  brought  into  court  and  the  judge  should  say  a 
few  words  to  them  admonishing  them  to  do  right,  it  would  last 
them  a  lifetime  and  would  be  a  mile-stone  in  their  career.  Every 
one  of  you  know  of  boys  that  might  not  be  influenced  by  that 
alone  who  by  a  little  incarceration  in  a  detention  home,  by  being 
taken  away  from  their  own  home  for  a  short  time,  might  be  re- 
formed ;  and  so  on,  different  treatment  for  different  boys. 

What  shall  the  treatment  be?  I  can't  say.  We  must  take 
each  boy  and  try  him.  One  thing  is  certain,  if  the  boy  is  to  go 
right  we  must  arouse  his  manhood.  How?  AYhy,  if  corporal 
punishment  will  do  it,  I  say  punish  him  corporally.  I  saw  a  boy 
on  the  street  Saturday  night.  I  just  wanted  to  try  the  effect  of 
that  on  him.  (Laughter.)  He  was  fat  in  form  and  fat  witted,  I 
am  afraid.  We  have  had  a  great  hullabaloo  recently  about,  the 
whipping  of  a  girl  at  Whittier.  This  incident  made  me  think  of 
a  story  I  once  read.  An  incident  was  told  by  one  man  to  an- 
other, and  the  point  was  supposed  to  be  in  the  question  that 
the  listening  boy  asked  when  they  g@t  through.  The  man 
telling  the  incident  said  that  a  friend  of  his  came  into  his  enclos- 
ure and  saw  an  owl  sitting  on  his  barn  door,  the  hay  mow  door. 
He  fired  at  the  owl,  with  a  shot  gun,  the  wad  caught  fire,  landed 
in  the  hay,  burned  the  barn  with  all  of  its  contents,  horses  and 
stock,  valuable  wagons,  and  caused  a  great  loss,  and  there  the 
man  telling  the  incident  ceased.  The  boy.  who  was  listening, 
said:  "Well,  did  he  hit  the  owl?"  Now,  let  me  tell  you.  I 
think  the  question  is,  in  dealing  with  a  boy,  "did  he  hit  the  owl?" 


24  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

"Did  he  get  the  boy  straightened  out?"  I  don't  care  if  he  burn- 
ed down  the  barn  and  all  the  horses  in  it.  I  don't  care  how  many 
blisters  you  raise  on  the  boy,  or  how  big  they  are,  or  how  much 
area  they  cover.  "Did  you  get  the  boy?"  Our  Humane  Society 
— the  good  president  of  that  society  is  here  to-day — has  been 
recently  torn  up  over  the  question  of  the  thrashing  of 
a  little  girl,  and  all  indications  point  to  the  fact  that  she  was  very 
cruelly  punished,  and  I  don't  endorse  it  at  all.  I  am  not  saying 
that  it  should  be  endorsed.  The  officer  of  that  Society  lost  his 
position  because  he  let  up  a  little  bit  in  the  prosecution  of  the 
young  man  who  gave  the  thrashing.  I  want  to  tell  you  what  I 
heard  the  other  day  over  at  the  place  where  that  girl  is  staying. 
One  of  her  companions  came  up  to  the  Mother  and  said : 
"Mother,  there  is  just  one  thing  I  ca/>'t  forgive  that  girl's  brother 
for."  "Well,"  the  Mother  said,  "what  is  that?"  "That  he  didn't 
kill  her.  She  is  the  worst  girl  I  ever  saw.  She  scratches  us,  she 
kicks  and  bites  and  acts  like  a  wild  animal."  I  am  telling  you 
this  just  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  there  are  two  sides  to  this 
question.  Now,  I  don't  knowr  what  this  girl  at  Whittier  was 
punished  for,  but  if  I  did,  I  know  one  thing,  that  probably  I 
couldn't  tell  you  about  it  here.  I  am  glad  of  this  investigation 
for  this  reason :  I  am  glad  when  the  people  take  an  interest  in 
the  internal  affairs  of  prisons,  jails  and  reformatories ;  they  must 
do  it;  but,  let  us  remember,  in  speaking  of  these  men  in  au- 
thority, that  there  are  some  things  they  can  not  tell  about  in 
public.  I  don't  know  whether  women  are  given  to  riots,  or  to 
mob  law,  but  I  believe  I  could  tell  you  a  story  of  one  boy's  con- 
duct such  that  you  would  certainly  feel  like  just  stringing  him 
right  up  here  to  this  moulding,  and  you  would  think  that  any 
punishment  he  might  receive  would  be  inadequate  to  the  offense. 
I  am  going  to  tell  you  of  one  boy  and  the  effect  that  was  accred- 
ited to  his  corporal  punishment.  Mind  you,  what  I  am  trying  to 
tell  you  is  this :  I  don't  care  so  much  how  you  punish  a  boy, 
for  you  can't  tell  what  will  arouse  your  own  child  into  right 
doing.  It  is  surprising,  yes,  it  is  astonishing,  how  many  efforts 
you  can  make  without, touching  a  boy's  heart,  and  how,  \vhen 
you  touch  just  the  right  key,  the  boy  is  revolutionized.  Now,  I 
will  leave  you  to  guess  where  the  key  was  in  this  case.  This  boy 
was  seventeen  years  old.  I  can't  tell  you  the  story  throughout. 
but  suffice  to  say,  he  had  a  poor  widowed  mother;  he  stole  from 
his  mother;  he  came  home  only  for  his  meals:  every  time  he 
got  a  job  he  would  steal  from  his  employer;  he  was  lazy  and 
shiftless;  when  he  came  into  court  he  had  no  intention  of  do- 
ing right;  ultimately  he  went  to  Whittier;  out  there  he  got 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  25 

a  contempt  for  the  place  and  said  he  was  going  to  run  away. 
The  Superintendent  called  for  him  and  said:  "I  understand 
you  planned  to  run  away  to-morrow  night."  Well,  the  boy 
denied  it,  but  he  did  run  away  the  next  night  and  was  caught 
before  he  had  gone  a  hundred  yards  out  of  the  grounds.  He  said 
he  knew  what  the  penalty  for  running  away  was — a  thrashing. 
During  the  course  of  that  thrashing  he  said:  "I  have  got 
enough."  "I  expected  to  be  thrashed,  but,  O  !  I  didn't  know  it 
was  anything  like  this."  The  Superintendent  added :  "That 
boy  is  a  new  boy."  It  revolutionized  him  in  his  condition  there, 
and  was  as  near  to  regeneration  as  you  can  get  by  human  means. 
I  do  wish  to  say  this,  that  as  society  is  organized  today, 
and  under  the  condition  of  the  laws,  which  permits  all  kinds  of 
children  to  be  brought  into  the  world,  by  all  sorts  of  unfit  and 
misfit  parents,  the  only  solution  of  the  future  of  this  nation 
lies  right  in  the  public  school. 

DON'T  EXPEL  BOYS  OR  GIRLS. 

I  want  to  say  that  every  effort  that  I  put  forth  in  the  juvenile 
court  is  to  keep  a  boy  in  the  public  school.  You  can  imagine 
how  I  feel  when  they  expel  one.  I  was  amused  in  another  room 
a  moment  ago.  The  question  under  discussion  was  how  to  keep 
boys  in  the  public  school.  I  said:  "Don't  expel  him."  "If  you 
think  of  expelling  a  boy,  why,  think  better  of  it,  and  just  cut  his 
throat."  (Laughter.)  Now,  I  knew  that  they  wouldn't  take 
that  literally,  as  the  Dutchman  did,  who  went  to  a  District  At- 
torney and  told  a  pitiful  story  about  his  neighbor's  conduct  con- 
cerning a  division  fence  and  then  asked  the  District  Attorney 
what  he  would  do  under  such  circumstances.  The  emotions  of 
the  District  Attorney  were  very  much  wrought  up,  and  he  said  : 
"Why,  I  would  kill  him."  The  Dutchman  went  home  and  killed 
his  neighbor,  and  the  District  Attorney  had  to  prosecute  him  for 
murder.  (Laughter.)  Now,  I  knew  that  Professor  Foshay  knew 
that  I  would  hang  him  if  he  did  that,  so  I  felt  safe  in  saying  it. 
Mr.  Foshay  said:  "I  want  to  take  issue  with  Judge  Wilbur." 
And  then  he  told  how  he  suspended  a  boy  and  took  him  back  in 
the  school  within  a  week.  Does  that  prove  that  it  is  a  good  thing 
to  expel  a  boy  permanently? 

I  have  said  that  the  great  effort  of  the  juvenile  court  is  to 
keep  the  boy  in  school,  so  that  his  home  disadvantages  might  be 
overcome,  and  1  will  tell  you  that  if  you  should  see  and  know  the 
history  of  some  of  these  children  your  hearts  would  be  saddened, 
more  so  than  I  dare  to  bring  to  you  at  this  happy  Christmas 
time. 


26  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


DEFECTIVE  PARENTS. 

Within  ten  blocks  of  this  building  to-day  there  is  a  three- 
month's  old  baby.  Its  mother  is  a  ward  of  the  juvenile  court, 
and  was  before  the  child  was  born.  That  mother  does  not  know 
the  father  of  that  boy.  I  do  not  feel  to-day  that  I  can  trust  that 
girl  as  far  as  I  could  throw  a  stone.  Now,  what  are  wre  going 
to  do  about  it?  Will  that  child  get  anything  from  its  mother 
that  is  worth  having?  The  only  hope  that  we  have  to-day  to 
offer  for  such  cases  (and  it  is  a  shame  that  we  have  to  rely  exclu- 
sively on  that)  is  the  public  school ;  that  the  teacher,  when 
that  child  comes  into  the  school  room,  will  be  both  a  father  and 
mother  to  that  child.  Why  do  I  speak  of  this  child?  Because 
there  are  many  others  like  it.  In  that  same  institution  there 
are  fifty  illegitimate  children  under  the  age  of  five  years ;  born 
of  unfit  parents ;  parents  unfit  to  have  children ;  physically,  mor- 
ally and  mentally  unfit  to  have  them. 

A  MODERN  PRODIGAL  SON. 

I  am  glad  I  have  a  little  sense  of  humor.  If  I  didn't  have  I 
think  I  should  give  up  the  ghost.  I  was  thinking  the  other  night 
as  a  woman  was  talking  to  me  of  her  boy  of  the  story  of  the 
prodigal  son  and  how  the  father  welcomed  that  son — now,  mind 
you,  "the  father."  This  woman  was  telling  how  her  son  had 
run  away  from  home.  (That  was  a  great  trouble  with  the  boy. 
He  \vas  good  in  the  detention  home,  he  was  good  in  school,  but 
he  ran  away  from  his  own  home.)  He  was  away  three  days, 
and  when  he  came  back,  this  is  the  way  she  greeted  him :  "Oh," 
she  said,  "I  know  why  you  came  back!  you  tore  your  trousers 
and  didn't  dare  stay  on  the  street  any  longer."  That  was  the 
kind  of  a  fatted  calf  he  got.  (Laughter.)  Of  course  the  boy 
ran  away  again.  He  is  away  now  and  has  been  for  three  weeks. 
What  will  become  of  him?  In  all  reverence,  the  Lord  only 
knows.  Is  his  mother  to  blame?  Well,  let  the  judgment  day 
decide.* 

JUVENILE  COURT  PROBLEMS. 

I  could  tell  you  many  interesting  ones,  and  I  must  say 
things  that  are  not  altogether  pleasant.  When  the  revivalist 
Dr.  Chapman  was  here,  did  you  notice  how  running  all  through 
his  sermons  was  the  thought  of  mother.  The  mother  whose  life 
was  an  appeal  to  that  young  man  always  to  turn  to  the  right. 
I  said  to  him.  "Dr.  Chapman,  you  are  talking  about  a  boy's 
mother  all  the  time.  What  would  vou  sav  to  a  bov  whose  mother 


'Fortunately,  many  arc  taken  into  good  homes. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  27 


was  a  prostitute,  to  a  boy  whose  mother  was  the  keeper  of  a 
house  of  ill  fame?"  I  said,  "I  have  two  such  boys  now 
under  my  jurisdiction  trying  to  make  men  of  them.  What  would 
you  say  to  a  boy  whose  father  when  asked,  "Are  you  the  father 
of  this  boy?"  says,  "Well,  I  believe  so,"  or  another  who  says, 
"I  think  not."  Dr.  Chapman  replied,  "I  don't  know.  We  gen- 
erally have  to  rely  on  touching  some  tender  chord  of  memory." 
But  we  have  these  boys  and  others  like  like  them  on  our  hands. 
The  problem  is  not  a  new  problem.  When  a  judge  of  the  Juvenile 
Court,  or  any  man,  gets  up  with  a  wonderful  new  theory  that  he 
has  discovered  about  boys,  it  is  more  or  less  wind.  The  things  that 
I  have  discovered  are  not  new,  but  old.  One  of  them  is  this: 
That  a  boy  needs  both  a  father  and  mother.  I  believe  that  any 
boy  raised  by  the  mother  alone  (a  widow,  grass  or  otherwise) 
will  never  be  quite  the  man  he  ought  to  be.  Just  one  case  as  an 
illustration  merely,  because  there  might  be  a  hundred  cited : 
Three  boys  stood  before  me  once  for  one  offense.  The  three 
mothers  appeared ;  the  three  fathers  were  not  in  evidence ;  one 
— divorced  ;  one — dead  ;  one — -whereabouts  unknown.  That  was 
one  group  that  happened  to  be  together.  I  don't  talk  much  about 
divorces.  There  is  no  use,  you  know.  If  a  person  wants  a  di- 
vorce they  are  going  to  have  it,  no  matter  how  hard  they  have 
to  lie  to  get  it.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  if  one  has  a  child  the 
last  thing  in  the  world  he  would  want  would  be — a  divorce. 

Teachers,  again  I  say  to  you  that  the  fact  is  emphasized  to 
my  mind,  not  as  a  new  fact,  but  with  a  new  emphasis,  that  with 
the  great  stream — the  unchecked  river — of  defective  children — 
of  paupers,  insanes,  criminals,  feeble-minded  persons — ever 
flowing  in  upon  us  there  is  no  hope  for  us  (as  our  law  is  today) 
except  the  hope  that  in  the  school  the  manhood  of  such  a  child 
will  be  aroused. 

EFFECT  OF  ALCOHOL  AND  NARCOTICS. 

I  intended  to  say  more  in  detail,  but  I  must  say  this:  Teach 
your  boys  not  only  the  effect  of  alcoholics,  but  the  effect  of  nar- 
cotics. (Applause.)  We  have  today  one  child  in  the  Detention 
Home  because  of  the  cocaine  habit.  Three  boys  from  one  mes- 
senger service  told  me  in  open  court  that  every  boy  in  that  force 
except  one  was  snuffing  cocaine.  Well,  need  I  go  further?  Teach 
your  boys  these  things  before  they  get  into  the  habit. 

THE  SEX  PROBLEM. 

It  needn't  be  a  problem.  See  that  the  boy  and  the  girl  under- 
stand something  about  it.  If  the  parents  don't  teach  him  you 
must  teach  him.  Why?  (Applause.)  Why?  because  there 


28  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

is  nobody  else  to  do  it ;  that  is  why ;  and  they  must  know.  They 
must  know.  Well,  what  are  you  going  to  do?  A  pretty  delicate 
subject.  Get  your  boys  apart  and  talk  to  them  as  a  man  to  the 
boy,  and  don't  be  afraid.  Tell  him  the  truth,  and  don't  forget 
that  the  boy — I  won't  say  about  the  girls ;  I  don't  know  much 
about  them,  and  never  expect  to — that  the  boy  knows  all  of  the 
meanness  and  all  of  the  evil  there  is.  You  can't  tell  him  any- 
thing new  about  that.  Tell  him  the  right  side  of  it.  I  don't  sup- 
pose I  have  any  idea  of  how  far  that  evil  permeates  the  whole 
^  system  of  juvenile  delinquency,  but  how  much  hope  would  you 
have  for  a  boy  that  you  knew  was  having  improper  relations 
with  women? 

I*  a  mixed  audience  I  can't  say  more  along  that  line,  but 
I  do  say  that  we  ought  to  have  mc^e  frankness  on  these  lines. 
(Applause.) 

I  was  interested  in  hearing  something  said  in  the  other  room 
about  the  salaries  of  teachers.  Now,  I  would  expect,  if  I  should 
tell  teachers  their  salaries  ought  to  be  raised,  that  they  would 
applaud  what  I  said.  I  would  be  awfully  disappointed  if  they 
didn't.  But  you  never  will  get  the  kind  of  teachers  you  want 
in  schools  for  the  mere  question  of  salary.  Never.  (Applause.) 
You  can't  compete  with  a  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollar  a 
year  life  insurance  president  in  the  school  business.  You  know 
and  I  know  that  you  ought  to  have  enough ;  how  much  that  is 
I  am  not  here  to  say.  But  the  teacher  that  is  worth  while  is  the 
teacher  that  loves  the  children ;  the  teacher  that  sees  the  place 
she  fills,  which  can  be  filled  by  none  other  in  the  system,  not 
only  of  school  government,  but  also  of  the  government  itself,  is 
the  one  that  we  want.  I  do  not  say  that  every  teacher  ought  to 
be  tied  for  life  to  the  school  system.  But  you  know  what  I  mean. 
You  know  that  it  is  your  loving  kindliness  and  your  helpful  in- 
terest in  the  children  that  will  lead  them  to  a  better  life.  No 
mere  knowledge  of  arithmetic,  no  mere  knowledge  of  reading 
and  writing,  but  the  spirit  of  the  teacher  entering  into  the  child 
is  the  thing  that  we  must  have  if  we  are  to  have  that  which  is 
worth  while. 

I  want  to  add  this  thought  to  what  I  said  about  expelling 
children.  If  T  should  leave  the  impression  that  T  was  any  advo- 
cate of  allowing  bad  boys — and  there  are  bad  boys  and  bad 
girls — to  associate  and  mingle  freely  with  the  best  in  our  school 
system,  I  would  be  grossly  misunderstood.  A  teacher  expelled 
a  boy,  who  was  in  the  Juvenile  Court,  for  an  offense  with 
some  relation  to  some  girl — T  don't  know  just  what  it  was — and 
the  probation  officer  remonstrated  with  him.  He  said,  "Well, 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  29 

I  guess  Judge  Wilbur  wouldn't  want  that  boy  going  to  school 
with  his  little  girl."  Why,  no.  No.  And  I  don't  want  you  to 
put  him  in  school  with  my  little  girl,  but  all  I  want  the  school 
authorities  to  remember  is  this,  that  there  ought  to  be  a  place 
in  the  public  school  system  for  every  child  that  can  be  kept  in  it. 
(Applause.) 

ECONOMY. 

Talking  about  dollars  and  cents.  Three  boys  sent  to  Whit- 
tier  cost  the  state  and  county  one  hundred  [100]  dollars  a  month. 
That  is  thirty-three  and  one-third  [33  1-3]  dollars  a  month  each. 
More  than  that,  but,  I  will  use  those  figures.  How  much  better 
would  it  be  to  pay  a  man  one  hundred  dollars  a  month  to  take 
those  three  boys  and  devote  his  entire  time  and  energy  to  their 
betterment?  (Applause.)  Now,  that  is  not  theory.  That  is 
common  sense,  isn't  it?  Los  Angeles  City  spends  a  vast  sum  of 
money  on  her  Public  School,  but  Los  Angeles  today  is  taxed 
over  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  support  what?  Insane 
asylum,  home  for  feeble-minded  children,  state  prisons,  jails, 
sheriffs  and  police.  That  is  not  one  year,  but  it  is  every  year, 
year  after  year.  On  the  capitalization  and  assets  of  the  Security 
Savings  Bank  of  twelve  million  dollars,  that  bank  is  paying 
sixty  thousand  dollars  annually  for  these  things.  Let  us  econo- 
mize with  intelligence.  (Applause.) 


"Because  right  is  right,  to  follow  right  were  wisdom  in  the 
scorn  of  consequences." — Tennyson. 

"One  thorn  of  experience  is  worth  a  whole  wilderness  of 
warning." — Lowell. 

"Progress    is   the    law   of   life — man   is   not   man    as   yet."- 
Browning. 

"Play  your  games  with  all  your  heart  and  do  your  pitching 
fair,  and  when  you  go  out  into  the  world  you  will  find  many 
oppotrunities  to  pitch  in." — David  Starr  Jordan  to  the  \Yhittier 
School  Cadets. 


The  Juvenile  Courts  and  Recent 
Developments  in  Penology 

By 

Hon.   Curtis    D.    Wilbur 

Dr.  Samuel  J.  Barrows 

Mr.   W.   A.   Gates 

Addresses  Delivered  before  the  City  Club  of  Los  Angeles,  Sept.  /p, 


Westminster   Hotel,    Saturday,    September    19,    1908. 

Regular  meeting  of  the  City  Club.  President  Hunsaker  in 
the  chair. 

Mr.  Hunsaker — Gentlemen  of  the  City  Club: — 

The  American  people  have  never  been  engaged  in  anything 
more  important  than  the  production  of  American  citizens.  It 
is  absolutely  essential  to  the  highest  citizenship  that  children 
should  receive,  not  only  the  parental  care,  but  that  the  interests 
of  children  who  arc  not  properly  cared  for  at  home  should  be 
looked  after  by  the  state. 

It  is  not  many  years  ago  when  little  tots  were  treated  as 
criminals  and  sent  to  prison  to  associate  with  the  hardened  and 
vicious.  P>ut  things  are  different  now.  We  are  taking  a  different 
view  of  the  duty  of  the  state  to  the  child,  and  there  has  been  no 
more  important  reform  in  the  law  and  the  development  of  the 
law  than  the  changed  attitude  of  the  state  towards  delinquent 
and  unfortunate  children. 

Some  years  ago  in  this  state  a  law  was  passed  creating  a 
Juvenile  Court,  the  object  of  which  was  to  care  for  and  correct 
these  unfortunate  children,  ratlicr  than  to  treat  them  as  crim- 
inals. A  similar  law  was  passed  in  other  states.  In  the  admin- 
istration of  that  law  so  much  depends  upon  the  judge,  the  good 
sense  of  the  judge  who  is  called  to  preside  over  the  Juvenile 
Court,  that  it  would  be  impossible  properly  to  administer  the 
law,  unless  that  judge  be  a  fatherly,  splendid,  Christian  man. 

In  the  administration  of  the  Juvenile  Law  in  this  country 
there'  have  been  two  judges  of  Juvenile  Courts  who  have  been 


32  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

more  prominent  than  their  brethren  on  the  bench.  Those  two 
judges, — and  I  mention  him  first  because  he  was  the  pioneer, — 
are  Judge  Ben  Lindsey  of  Denver  (applause),  the  friend  of  the 
poor,  unfortunate  boy ;  and  our  own  dear  Judge  Curtis  1).  Wilbur 
of  Los  Angeles.  (Applause.) 

I  will  not  introduce,  but  merely  present  to  you  Judge  Wil- 
bur, who  will  address  you  on  the  subject  of  Juvenile  Courts. 
(Applause.) 

Address  of  Hon.  Curtis  D.  Wilbur 

Judge  of  Juvenile  Court 

Mr.  Wilbur — Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen: — 

I  am  in  the  unfortunate  position  of  a  man  who  was  asked  to 
fill  a  vacancy,  and  when  he  arrived  found  that  there  was  no 
vacancy ;  for,  after  I  had  consented,  on  short  notice,  to  address 
you  today,  we  had  the  distinguished  honor  of  securing  the  con- 
sent of  Mr.  Barrows  to  address  you;  but  he  made  it  a  condition 
of  his  consent  that  I  should  speak  first;  and  I  shall  endeavor  to 
accomplish  my  function  by  making  a  speech  which  is  so  full  of 
holes  that  he  will  have  lots  of  vacancies  to  fill. 

I  also  am  embarrassed  for  another  reason.  I  have  long 
coveted  the  opportunity  of  presenting  to  this  body  of  men  the 
work  of  the  Juvenile  Court.  I  had  been  planning  in  my  mind 
some  of  the  things  I  would  like  to  do.  I  felt  that,  with  men  of 
the  character  of  those  who  are  here,  I  could  speak  to  you  more 
confidently  and  more  definitely  in  regard  to  some  individual  cases 
than  could  be  done  in  an  ordinary  assembly.  And  it  is  only  as 
you  come  in  touch  with  the  individual  in  the  work  of  the  Juvenile 
Court  that  its  importance  is  fully  appreciated.  So  I  was  rather 
reluctant  to  accept  the  invitation  extended  to  me,  with  only  two 
days'  notice,  to  present  to  you  this  subject;  and,  to  tell  the  truth, 
I  am  not  going  to  do  it.  I  am  going  to  cover  some  of  the  general 
ground,  and  I  venture  to  express  the  hope  that  some  time  you 
may  care  to  hear  from  me  again  ;  and  if  you  do,  I  want  to  be  able 
to  present  some  data,  some  pictures  and  some  records  that  will 
interest  you.  Today,  however,  I  am  not  going  to  tell  individual 
stories,  but,  as  I  say.  cover  the  more  general  and  less  interesting 
ground. 

This  community  has  recently  been  shocked,  as  perhaps  it 
never  has  been  shocked  before,  except  by  the  death  of  President 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  33 

McKinley,  by  the  assassination,  in  broad  daylight,  on  one  of  our 
down-town  city  streets,  of  a  police  officer,  in  uniform,  fulfilling 
the  duties  of  his  office.  That  shock  was  great  to  us  for  two  rea- 
sons:  First,  that  we  all  knew  the  man  who  was  killed.  I  think 
there  is  not  a  man  here  but  respected  him  and  believed  that  he 
was  a  man  who  wanted  to  do  his  full  duty ;  and  so  we  felt, — 
those  of  us  who  knew  him  so  well, — that  a  friend  of  ours  had 
been  assassinated.  But  there  was  another  element  in  this  assas- 
sination, which  startled  us,  and  this  feeling  was  emphasized 
when  a  few  days  later  we  read  in  our  daily  papers  the  autobiog- 
raphy of  the  man  who  killed  Captain  Auble.  It  is  very  rarely 
that  we  have  had  the  opportunity  of  reading  the  autobiography 
of  such  a  man ;  and,  as  we  read  it,  we  saw  that  in  his  heart  was 
the  determination  and  the  willingness  to  murder  whatever  officer 
might  seek  to  arrest  him.  And  so  our  attention  has  been  directed, 
in  a  measure,  I  think,  as  a  community,  to  the  question  of  the 
dealing  with  these  men  who  are  in  our  midst,  these  men  that  we 
hate  and  fear,  what  we  are  pleased  to  call  the  criminal  classes. 
To  that  I  will  again  advert. 

The  dearest  thing  on  earth  is  human  liberty,  and  we  some- 
times forget  the  scope  of  liberty :  The  liberty  to  marry  the  girl 
that  you  want  to  marry,  if  you  can  get  her ;  the  liberty  to  en- 
gage in  the  business  that  you  want  to  engage  in ;  the  liberty  to 
make  the  contracts  that  you  want  to  make  and  to  go  where  you 
want  to  make  them.  In  this  nation,  as  in  no  other,  we  have  real- 
ized human  liberty  far  beyond, — and  I  am  marking  my  words, — 
far  beyond  the  dreams,  not  only  of  our  forefathers,  but  of  men 
who  walk  the  earth  today  in  such  nations  as  Russia,  Turkey, 
Persia  and  China.  They  can  no  more  understand  the  liberty 
which  we  enjoy  here  today  than  they  can  understand  heaven. 

For  centuries  we  have  been  seeking  to  attain  this  liberty. 
We  have  engaged  in  war,  and  have  shed  oceans  of  blood.  We 
have  fought  in  the  courts,  and  folio  after  folio,  to  the  thousands 
and  tens  of  thousands  and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  pages  have 
been  devoted  to  questions  of  human  liberty,  the  laws  which 
should  obtain  in  the  conviction  of  a  man  of  crime.  And  we  have 
wanted  to  feel,  as  a  people,  as  jurors,  and  judges  and  lawyers, 
that  when  any  man  is  sentenced  to  wear  the  stripes  or  to  hang 
by  the  neck  until  dead,  that  there  was  no  reasonable  doubt  of 
his  guilt  and  of  the  justice  of  his  punishment.  Such  is  our  law. 

But  that  doesn't  solve  the  question  of  the  criminal  or  of  the 
criminal  classes.  It  brings  us  to  the  very  threshold,  and  only 
to  the  threshold,  of  the  question.  And  herein,  Mr.  President, 


34  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


we  have  erred.  We  have  said  that,  when  the  law  has  determined 
that  the  crime  has  been  committed,  when  that  fact  has  been  ad- 
judicated, the  question  is  settled.  Hut  I  say  to  you,  if  we  are  to 
attack  this  problem  intelligently,  that  we  are  but  at  the  thresh- 
hold  of  the  problem  :  What  to  do  with  the  criminal. 

And,  by  the  way,  who  is  a  criminal?  We  have  no  right  to 
say — and  yet,  of  course,  we  do  so — that  any  man  who  violates 
a  criminal  law.  or  a  law  which  has  attached  to  it  a  criminal  pen- 
alty, is  a  criminal.  According  to  a  recent  decision  of  our  Superior 
Court,  concurred  in  by  our  eminent  city  prosecuting  attorney, 
every  member  of  every  social  club  in  this  city  is  a  criminal. 
They  don't  believe  it  until  the  Supreme  Court  also  says  the  same 
thing. 

Mr.  Thos.  L.  Wool  wine — I  would  like  to  correct  that:  the 
officers  of  the  clubs. 

Mr.  Wilbur — I  say  that,  morally,  every  member  of  the  club 
is  guilty;  and  I  believe  legally.  However,  don't  act  on  my  ad- 
vice. 

That  isn't  all.  Jesus  Christ  was  a  criminal,  executed  by  and 
in  pursuance  of  a  judicial  decree, — obtained  by  methods  of  which 
we  wouldn't  approve. 

The  apostles  were  criminals;  and  the  book  that  we  love  and 
some  of  us  try  to  follow  was  written  by  men  who  were  executed 
for  crime.  The  Apostle  Paul,  for  instance. 

After  all,  the  real  question,  when  we  pass  the  question  of  the 
determination  of  the  court,  is  the  man  himself.  Let  me  call 
your  attention  to  the  fact,  which  I  believe  is  true,  that  in  this 
nation,  more  than  in  any  other,  and  because  of  the  wonderful 
liberty  allowed  to  the  citizenship,  it  is  important  that  the  crim- 
inal should  not  merely  be  punished,  but  should  be  reformed.  A 
moment's  reflection,  without  the  necessity  of  illustration  from 
me,  will  convince  you  that  your  happiness,  your  security  in  your 
own  home  and  by  your  own  fireside  and  in  your  own  family  re- 
lations, depends  almost  entirely  on  the  proposition,  that  the  citi- 
zenship of  this  country  want  to  do  right,  rather  than  wrong. 
And  we  have  seen,  in  the  confession  of  Orchard,  in  the  con- 
fession of  this  man  Sutherland,  and  in  the  confession  of  other 
criminals,  how  easy  it  is  for  a  man  to  commit  the  most  dastardly 
crimes  and  do  it,  not  once,  but  scores  of  times,  without  detec- 
tion and  without  even  suspicion. 

\\  e  were  shocked  almost  beyond  measure  when  a  few  years 
ago  18  convicts  escaped  from  Folsom.  Hy  threatening  the 
guards,  they  were  induced  to  give  them  rifles  of  the  most  mod- 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


ern  construction ;  and  these  18  men  disappeared  armed  to  the 
teeth  with  modern,  up-to-date  weapons.  But  let  us  not  forget, 
when  we  shudder  over  the  prospects  of  such  a  horde  of  men 
traveling  over  our  fair  state,  that,  under  the  ordinary  system 
of  executing  our  laws  and  carrying  them  out,  these  men  would, 
in  due  course,  be  released.  Possibly  one  at  a  time,  but,  never- 
theless, they  would  have  been  released  to  come  back  into  the 
body  politic  and  take  the  part  which  to  them  seemed  right  and 
best  in  the  life  of  the  nation  and  of  the  state. 

I  say,  that  we  have  been  very  indifferent  to  the  cry  of  the 
prisoner;  and  I  hope  I  will  not  be  thought  to  be  crying  out  in  any 
maudlin  sentimentality  in  favor  of  a  man  merely  because  he  has 
stripes  on  or  is  behind  the  bars.  I  have  absolutely  no  sympathy 
with  what  has  taken  place  sometimes,  when  a  man  has  committed 
some  bloody  murder,  some  crime  which  has  shocked  an  entire 
community.  Upon  his  incarceration  ladies  come  to  visit  him 
and  bring  flowers  and  weep  over  his  sorrows  and  distress.  I  say 
I  have  absolutely  no  sympathy  with  that,  because  they  have 
picked  out  this  dramatic  episode  to  relieve  their  sentimental 
feelings ;  whereas,  if,  in  their  hearts  they  had  the  desire  to  help 
the  man  that  was  down,  why  didn't  they  visit  the  hobo  and  the 
tramp  and  the  fellow  who  stole  15  cents,  and  needs  help  more 
than  this  man,  perhaps,  who  has  committed  the  greater  crime. 

When  we  undertake  to  solve  this  question,  we  are  under- 
taking to  solve  the  greatest  question  in  life.  Indeed,  we  are  un- 
dertaking to  solve  the  problem  of  life  itself.  If  we  believe  the 
story  of  man  as  written  in  the  Bible,  we  see  that  there  has  been 
a  contest  almost  from  the  day  man  was  created,  a  free  and  inde- 
pendent thinker,  able  to  do  what  he  thought  was  right,  whether 
God  thought  it  was  right  or  not;  that  everything  that  has  been 
brought  to  bear  upon  the  human  family  from  that  time  to  this 
has  been  brought  to  bear  for  the  purpose  of  convincing  men 
that  it  is  best  for  them  that  their  wills  should  freely  and  volun- 
tarily concur  in  the  will  of  Almighty  God ;  in  other  words,  that 
they  should  want  to  do  right  and  not  wrong.  And  so  I  say  that, 
when  we  undertake  to  reform  a  man,  to  make  him  want  to  do 
right  instead  of  wrong,  we  have  undertaken  a  problem  as  large 
as  life  itself.  We  have  been  indifferent  to  it.  For  twenty  years 
the  wardens  of  our  penitentiaries  have  cried  out  aloud  for  relief 
against  conditions  which  they  themselves  said  were  shocking. 
It  is  only  within  the  last  four  or  five  years  that  there  has  been 
any  adequate  response  to  this  cry. 

When  I  visited  Folsom  prison,  there  were  a  thousand  and 
one  prisoners  confined  in  cells  intended  for  500.  The  prisoners 


36  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

were  building  a  wing  which  would  care  for  500  more.  But  in 
this  prison,  clean  as  it  was,  it  was  true  that  in  every  cell  there 
were  two  men;  and  I  ask  you  whether,  if  your  boy  "goes  to  the 
penitentiary,  you  want  him  to  be  in  a  room  with  any  other  man 
who  is  there.  Everybody  that  deals  with  this  question  recog- 
nizes that  one  of  the  greatest  evils  in  the  prison  is  the  fact  that 
these  men  come  in  contact  with  each  other. 

There  were  in  two  rooms  or  assembly  halls  or  cells  40  or 
50  men.  I  am  not  attempting  to  be  accurate.  Mr.  Gates  here 
would  probably  be  able  to  give  you  the  exact  figures.  He  is 
secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Corrections. 

At  San  Quentin  there  were  1700  prisoners,  making  2700  in 
all.  confined  in  cells  intended  for  700  odd.  There  they  were  level- 
ing grounds  and  making  preparations  for  the  erection  of  a  build- 
ing adequate  to  the  needs  of  the  prison. 

In  our  own  city  for  nearly  ten  years  the  various  chiefs  of 
police  in  their  reports  have  cried  out  to  the  city  council  for 
relief.  They  said  the  conditions  there  were  shocking  beyond 
measure  in  the  city  prison ;  that  men  were  sometimes  there  in 
such  numbers  that  they  not  only  could  have  no  bed,  but  that 
they  had  to  stand  up  all  night.  This  cry  was  not  responded  to 
until  recently,  when  we  built  what  we  call  the  stockade ;  and  I 
believe  that,  since  it  is  built,  not  only  has  there  been  no  one  con- 
fined in  it,  but  the  population  at  the  city  jail  has  decreased. 

Some  might  object  to  this.  I  have  even  heard  objections 
raised  to  the  fact  that  our  small-pox  hospital  was  not  inhabited, 
and  that  money  had  been  wasted  in  its  erection.  We  have  lim- 
ited the  supply  of  tourists, — breakbeam  tourists. 

I  want  to  read  you, — for  I  have  tried  to  lead  up  to  the  point 
where  we  consider  the  heart  of  the  man  behind  the  bars, — I  want 
to  read  you  something  written  by  a  man  who  had  been  behind 
the  bars.  I  won't  mention  his  name  until  after  I  have  read  it. 

"  I  know  not  whether  laws  be  right, 

Or  whether  laws  be  wrong; 
All  that  we  know  who  lie  in  jail 

Is  that  the  wall  is  strong; 
And  that  each  day  is  like  a  year, 

A  year  whose  days  are  long. 

"  But  this  I  know,  that  every  Law 
That  men  have  made  for  Man, 
Since  first  Man  took  his  brother's  life, 
And  the  sad  world  began, 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  37 

But  straws  the  wheat  and  saves  the  chaff 
With  a  most  evil  fan. 

"  This,  too,  I  know — and  wise  it  were 

If  each  could  know  the  same — 
That  every  prison  that  men  build 

Is  built  with  bricks  of  shame, 
And  bound  with  bars  lest  Christ  should  see 

How  men  their  brothers  maim. 

"  With  bars  they  blur  the  gracious  moon, 

And  blind  the  goodly  sun; 
And  they  do  well  to  hide  their  Hell, 

For  in  it  things  are  done 
That  Son  of  God  nor  son  of  Man 

Ever  should  look  upon. 

"  The  vilest  deeds  like  poison  weeds 

Bloom  well  in  prison-air; 
It  is  only  what  is  good  in  Man 

That  wastes  and  withers  there  : 
Pale  Anguish  keeps  the  heavy  gate, 

And  the  Warder  is  Despair. 

"  With  midnight  always  in  one's  heart, 

And  twilight  in  one's  cell, 
We  turn  the  crank,  or  tear  the  rope, 

Each  in  his  separate  Hell, 
And  the  silence  is  more  awful  far 

Than  the  sound  of  brazen  bell. 

"  And  never  a  human  voice  comes  near 

To  speak  a  gentle  word : 
And  the  eye  that  watches  through  the  door 

Is  pitiless  and  hard: 
And  by  all  forgot,  we  rot  and  rot, 

With  soul  and  body  marred. 

"  And  thus  we  rust  Life's  iron  chain 

Degraded  and  alone : 
And  some  men  curse,  and  some  men  weep, 

And  some  men  make  no  moan  ; 
But  God's  eternal  Laws  are  kind 
And  break  the  heart  of  stone. 


38  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


"  And  every  human  heart  that  breaks, 

In  prison-cell  or  yard, 
Is  as  that  broken  box  that  gave 

Its  treasure  to  the  Lord, 
And  filled  the  unclean  leper's  house 

With  the  scent  of  costliest  nard. 

"  Ah  !  happy  they  whose  hearts  can  break 

And  peace  of  pardon  win ! 
How  else  may  man  make  straight  his  plan 

And  cleanse  his  soul  from  Sin? 
How  else  but  through  a  broken  heart 

May  Lord  Christ  enter  in?" 

— Oscar  Wilde,  from  "Ballad  of  Reading  Goal." 

I  hesitate  in  my  mind  whether  to  speak  to  you  of  a  very 
remarkable  experience  which  I  have  had  within  the  last  two 
months.  I  will  touch  the  experience,  so  that  you  will  under- 
stand, without  going  into  details. 

When  I  was  in  San  Quentin  prison — a  visitor — 1  was  anxious 
to  ascertain  whether  or  not  it  was  true  that  men  were  being 
given  suits  of  citizen's  clothes  when  they  left  which  could  be 
identified  by  every  policeman.  That  has  been  one  of  the  criti- 
cisms on  our  prison  system.  I  therefore  asked  to  be  shown  the 
place  where  the  clothing  was  kept,  and  was  happy  to  find  that 
they  had  been  corrected,  and  that  there  were  at  least  eight  dif- 
ferent patterns,  very  modest  patterns,  which  were  given  to  the 
prisoners,  as  they  might  select. 

In  this  room  were  two  men  :  one  a  man  about  60  years  old, 
in  his  prison  stripes;  another  a  man  of  about  38  years  of  age. 
The  older  man  was  met  there  in  the  room  by  his  son,  a  boy 
about  19  years  of  age,  who  had  come  to  San  Quentin  to  take 
him  back  to  San  Francisco.  The  other  man  was  alone.  I  took 
the  same  train  that  these  men  took.  Tn  the  course  of  the  jour- 
ney I  spoke  to  this  younger  man.  lie  left  me  with  a  promise, 
and  since  that  1  have  had  from  him  several  letters,  in  which  I 
have  had  an  opportunity  to  test  his  spirit ;  and  perhaps  his 
changed  attitude  may  be  illustrated  by  the  way  in  which  he 
closed  his  first  and  last  letter.  In  the  first  letter  he  said,  "I  am — 
may  I  call  myself,  your  friend,"  signing  his  name.  In  the  last 
letter  he  signed  it  without  hesitation,  "Your  friend  and  brother 
in  Christ." 

In  these  letters  he  stated  that  when  he  left  prison, — by  the 
way,  he  was  released  on  parole, — he  had  been  thinking  of  only 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  39 

two  things :  One  was  worldly  pleasure,  and  the  other  was  the 
opportunity  to  revenge  himself  upon  the  man  who  had  caused 
him  to  go  there.  In  the  last  letter  he  said  that  he  had  written 
this  man  who  caused  him  to  go  there  and  asked  his  forgivenness. 

The  greatest  mistake  that  we  can  make  as  to  men  is  in  lay- 
ing down  in  our  hearts  the  rule  that  these  men  are  different  from 
us,  and  we  are  doing  that  constantly.  I  don't  want  to  be  misun- 
derstood. I  believe  that  there  are  men  who  are  irredeemable  by 
any  earthly  or  human  process,  and  possibly  by  any  divine  process. 
I  believe  it  is  true  today  in  our  prisons  as  it  was  when  Jesus 
Christ  hung  on  the  cross,  that  on  the  one  hand  there  will  be  the 
man  who  says,  "We  are  suffering  justly,"  and  who  will  ask  for 
forgivenness;  on  the  other  hand,  the  man  who  will  look  at  his 
dying  Savior,  and,  though  suffering  the  same  pangs  of  agony, 
will  ridicule  him. 

Not  long  since,  going  north  on  the  train,  two  prisoners  from 
this  county  were  being  taken  to  the  penitentiary  by  the  sheriff. 
They  were  not  from  my  department.  I  asked  to  be  introduced 
to  them  by  the  sheriff.  I  spoke  to  them;  just  a  few  words,  sug- 
gesting that  they  should  be  amenable  to  discipline  and  try  to 
do  the  right  thing,  or  something  of  that  sort.  When  I  returned 
to  Los  Angeles,  I  asked  the  sheriff  what  they  said  when  I  left. 
He  told  me  that  one  of  the  men  had  made  a  slurring,  obscene 
remark,  which  I  will  not  repeat,  although  it  would  be  very  illu- 
minating as  to  his  frame  of  mind.  The  other  man  had  rebuked 
him  and  said,  "He  was  trying  to  do  us  good."  There  you  have 
the  picture.  And  it  is  up  to  us  to  help  the  man  that  wants  help 
and  needs  it  and  is  worthy  of  it.  Now,  we  are  doing  that. 

I  am  going  to  take  five  minutes  in  telling  you  some  of  the 
things  we  are  doing.  Possibly  I  may  take  one  of  it  in  telling 
you  some  of  the  things  we  are  not  doing. 

First,  if  we  were  talking  about  sending  a  lot  of  Sunday  School 
superintendents  and  Sunday  School  teachers  and  what  we  might, 
perhaps,  call  "goody-goody"  men,  up  to  the  penitentiaries  as 
guards,  you  would  probably  say,  "Well,  that  will  never  do."  I 
know  all  the  guards  there  would  say  it  would  never  do.  They 
would  lose  their  jobs,  wouldn't  they? 

I  was  told  by  a  prisoner  who  had  served  a  term  in  San  Quen- 
tin  prison,  who  recently  died  in  this  city  a  respected  citizen — 
his  only  crime  was  in  shooting  a  lawyer,  and  he  was  pardoned 
(laughter) — that  one  night  when  the  guards  came  upstairs  to 
lock  the  prisoners  in,  two  of  these  guards  were  so  drunk  that 
they  had  to  come  up  the  stairway  on  their  hands  and  knees,  and 
as  they  crawled  up  the  iron  stairway  to  lock  in  these  prisoners 


40  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

that  we  had  sent  there,  they  were  singing  in  drunken,  maudlin 
tones,  "Oh,  climbing  up  those  golden  stairs." 

I  don't  want  to  get  too  personal ;  that  is,  I  don't  want  to  say 
things  that  could  be  traced  to  a  source;  but  one  of  the  deputy 
sheriffs  from  San  Francisco  recently — by  the  way,  he  was  under 
a  reform  administration — escorted  a  prisoner  to  Folsom.  When 
they  arrived  there  both  were  drunk.  The  sheriff  was  the  drunker 
of. the  two,  and  the  prisoner  was  leading  the  sheriff.  So  I  would 
mildly  suggest  that  perhaps  one  of  the  best  ways  to  start  in  on 
our  reform  work  would  be  to  see  that  the  men  who  are  in  daily 
contact  with  these  men  who  are  sent  to  prison  are  good  citizens. 

I  told  you  I  wouldn't  say  much  about  the  juvenile  court. 
I  won't.  I  will  just  hint  at  it.  \Yher  we  undertake  this  problem, 
we  find,  as  I  have  suggested,  that  it  is  as  broad  as  life  itself.  We 
find  that  if  we  are  going  to  deal  with  the  adults,  we  must  deal 
with  the  juveniles,  the  children  in  their  most  plastic  age.  And 
I  want  to  say,  just  roughly,  in  passing,  about  the  children,  that 
the  thing  that  surprises  me  about  the  boys  and  the  girls  is,  not 
that  they  are  so  bad,  but  that  they  are  not  worse ;  not  that  there 
are  so  many  crimes  committed  by  children,  but  that  there  are 
not  more ;  the  thing  that  surprises  me  is,  not  that  they  are  so 
incorrigible,  but  that  there  are  so  many  of  them  ready  to  blos- 
som out  in  the  sunshine  of  kindness  and  do  the  right  thing. 

So  we  have  our  juvenile  court  trying  to  attack  this  evil  at  its 
source ;  and  when  we  attack  it,  we  find  very  quickly  that  we  are 
out  of  the  court  room  and  into  the  school  room  ;  we  are  asking 
for  play-grounds ;  we  are  asking  that  children  be  decently  housed 
and  fed;  we  are  asking  that  children  be  examined  physically 
and  cared  for. 

I  had  a  boy  before  me  yesterday.  He  had  been  neglected 
by  his  parents,  having  adenoids  in  his  throat  until  the  growth, 
which  could  have  been  removed  in  a  few  minutes,  had  actually 
changed  the  shape  of  his  skull,  the  bony  structure  ;  and  he  was 
by  that  much  less  a  man.  Neglect!  That  wasn't  all;  but  I  can't 
tell  you  the  rest.  I  might,  some  time,  privately. 

Some  of  the  things  we  have  done :  Probation  before  sen- 
tence to  prison.  We  have  in  this  city,  I  think,  150  men  on  pro- 
bation. I  don't  recognize  any  of  them  here;  but  if  I  did  I 
wouldn't  mention  it.  \Ye  are  trying  to  help  them  become  re- 
spected and  good  citizens.  Out  of  the  150  I  believe  there  have 
been  but  three  or  four  who  have  had  to  go  to  the  penitentiary. 

We  have  the  system  of  parole  after  a  man  has  gone  to  the 
penitentiary.  The  system  as  now  used  in  this  state  is  this: 
When  a  man  has  served  half  of  his  time  after  the  credits  for 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  41 

good  conduct  are  deducted — I  believe,  Mr.  Gates? 

Mr.  Gates — Yes. 

Mr.  Wilbur — He  can  then  apply  to  the  prison  board  for  re- 
lease on  parole.  Before  he  can  be  released,  he  must  have  a  job 
in  waiting  for  him ;  and,  of  course,  during  the  first  few  months 
after  his  release,  the  critical  time  of  the  life  of  the  prisoner,  he 
feels  that  the  hand  of  the  law  is  still  on  him  and  it  behooves  him 
to  straighten  up. 

An  interesting  thing  in  that  parole  system,  the  strange  thing 
about  it,  is  that  we  find  that  the  prisoners  take  it  upon  themselves 
to  make  it  mighty  hot  for  the  fellow  that  comes  back  from  parole. 
At  first  that  struck  me  as  a  little  bit  strange.  Then  I  saw  the 
point  of  it.  "Why,"  they  said  to  themselves,  "if  this  fellow 
doesn't  make  good,  that  lessens  our  chance.  He  has  hurt  us." 
And  they  hurt  him — not  in  the  same  way,  but  with  a  sharper 
instrument. 

I  am  going  to  stop  without  closing.  (Laughter  and  ap- 
plause.) 

Mr.  Hunsaker — I  know  I  voice  the  unanimous  sentiment  of 
the  Club  in  extending  thanks  to  Judge  Wilbur  for  his  address, 
and  in  expressing  the  hope  that  at  some  future  time  he  will  be 
able  to  speak  to  us  in  detail  as  to  the  work  of  the  juvenile  court. 


Mr.  Hunsaker — I  now  have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  Dr. 
Samuel  J.  Barrows,  President  of  the  International  Congress  on 
Prison  Reform. 


Address  of  Dr.  Samuel  J.  Barrows 

President  of  the  International  Congress  on  Prison  Reform 

Mr.  Barrows — Mr.  Chairman  and  Members  of  the  City  Club : — 

Last  Wednesday  an  eastern  tramp  came  into  Los  Angeles, 
lie  hadn't  been  in  the  city  more  than  an  hour  before  he  was  in 
jail.  The  charge  against  him  was  not  pressed.  He  was  released. 
He  went  over  to  the  Superior  Court.  He  found  Judge  Wilbur 
there.  He  thought  he  would  work  the  judge.  He  took  out  some 
cards.  They  were  not  playing  cards.  No  man  from  the  east 
would  attempt  to  work  a  California  judge  with  playing  cards. 
He  would  know  that  he  would  get  beaten  every  time.  (Laugh- 
ter.) They  were  simply  some  visiting  cards.  So  the  tramp 


42  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

chose  one  that  he  thought  might  pass  best  and  tried  it  on  the 
judge;  and  he  thought  for  awhile  that  he  was  working  the  judge. 
After  a  little  while  he  found  that  the  judge  was  working  him, 
and  he  told  him  that  he  would  have  to  come  to  this  club  and 
earn  his  dinner  on  Saturday  by  talking  to  it.  (Applause.)  Well, 
that  is  a  very  easy  way  for  tramps  to  do.  Plenty  of  them  would 
be  glad  to  earn  their  dinner,  if  only  they  could  get  a  chance  to 
earn  it  by  talking,  instead  of  by  sawing  wood.  The  tramp  on 
that  occasion,  however,  did  not  feel  that  it  was  his  business  to 
earn  the  judge's  dinner,  too.  (Laughter.)  And  so  he  insisted 
that  he  should  do  his  own  talking. 

You  have  heard  the  subject  of  parole  referred  to.  The  pris- 
oner wants  his  liberty;  and  Judge  Wilbur  has  said  how  strong 
is  the  love  of  liberty.  I  found  a  while  ago,  while  visiting  the 
reformatory  at  Mansfield,  Ohio,  that  there  was  one  prisoner 
there  who  thought  he  might  get  out  if  he  could  only  display  a 
little  eloquence.  He  was  a  negro  there  who  wanted  release  on 
parole.  And  so  he  wrote  this  letter,  and  I  was  interested  enough 
to  copy  it.  It  has  never  been  published,  but  I  happened  to  have 
it  in  my  pocket,  and  I  thought  I  would  just  tell  you  how  this 
prisoner  thought  he  might  work  the  susceptibilities  of  the  parole 
board,  as  the  tramp  the  other  day  was  trying  to  work  the  suscep- 
tibilities of  the  Judge.  And  so  he  wrote  this  letter  to  the  chap- 
lain. I  can't  tell  you  just  how  it  is — the  orthography,  because 
it  is  very  poor;  in  fact,  it  adds  a  little  picturesque  variety  to  it. 

"Mr.  Love.  Dear  Sir: — I  seize  this  opportunity  to  in- 
form you  a  momentous  missive.  I  will  make  it  as  laconic  as 
possible.  I  wish  to  decant  with  you  about  my  emancipation.  I 
have  been  an  inmate  of  this  institution  now  three  years.  I  know 
it  is  very  obliqueful  of  me  to  be  so  obstreperous,  but  I  beg  of 
you  to  hear  me.  It  isn't  done  intentionally.  It  is  my  nature  to 
be  loquacious.  If  you  investigate,  you  will  see  that  two-thirds 
of  my  trouble  is  by  being  too  loquacious.  I  cannot  be  reticent. 
I  have  tried  just  as  hard  as  any  boy  here,  Mr.  Love.  Yon 
do  not  know  how  'solicipus'  I  am  for  my  parole.  That  is  the 
reason  I  am  writing  this  letter.  It  looks  as  if  the  rest  of  the 
old  boys  are  having  a  chance.  I  write  you  because  I  know 
of  your  magnanimous  disposition  and  feel  confident  that  you 
will  do  all  that  lies  in  your  power  for  me.  I  know  when  I  shall 
gain  my  "unfetterdom" — by  which  I  suppose  he  means  the  same 
as  the  Judge  does  when  lie  speaks  of  liberty — "that  T  shall 
disgorge  my  old  habits  and  try  to  be  a  man,  honored  and  indus- 
trious. You  know  we  are  all  liable  to  go  inaccurate  once."  That 
is  a  nice  euphonism.  "I  feel  I  am  strong  and  valiant  enough  to 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  43 

battle  with  the  world.  There  is  many  a  night  I  put  in  my  cell 
with  ingrates.  It  is  enough  to  make  an  angle" — I  suppose. he 
meant  an  angel — "It  is  enough  to  make  an  angle  lackadaisical." 
And  then  he  thought  he  would  try  a  little  Latin.  "Labor  is  the 
de  videratum  of  us  all.  *  *  I  hope  you  may  motus  defenda 

for  my  sake,  and  have  me  recommended.  Well,  this  is  about 
the  omega  I  have  to  say.  I  beg  of  you  to  forgive  this  poor 

writer,  but  I  am  no  -  .  I  bring  my  missive  to  a  close. 

Obediently  and  confidently  awaiting  my  doom." 

I  will  say  that  the  prisoner  did  not  get  his  release  upon  that 
display  of  eloquence.  And,  gentlemen,  when  you  are  looking 
for  a  half-holiday,  I  am  not  going  to  attempt  any  eloquence 
myself.  I  will  just  simply  make  a  few  remarks  that  have  been 
suggested  by  Judge  Wilbur  in  relation  to  our  prison  system. 

Now,  there  are  some  things  you  can  see,  when  you  are  going 
over  the  country,  by  looking  out  through  the  car  window,  and 
thereby  judge  of  the  civilization.  You  can  see  something  about 
the  electric  lights  and  the  steam  cars;  and  when  you  go  into 
a  city  you  can  see  its  public  libraries  and  its  public  schools,  and 
you  can  judge  its  standard  of  living.  But  there  are  some  other 
things  that  you  cannot  see  from  the  car  window,  which  power- 
fully influence  the  civilization  and  which  furnish  also  standards 
of  civilization. 

Last  year  I  visited  36  prisons  in  Europe,  over  all  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe :  Sweden  and  Great  Britain,  and  Russia,  and 
Finland,  and  France,  and  Germany,  and  Switzerland,  and  Spain, 
and  Portugal ;  and  I  could  tell  in  every  one  of  those  countries, 
by  visiting  the  prisons,  just  as  well  as  by  visiting  the  galleries 
and  public  libraries,  what  the  standard  of  living  was,  the  standard 
of  civilization  in  those  places.  And  so  our  own  country  will  be 
judged  in  the  same  way.  And  there  are  some  things  back  behind 
the  prison,  which  do  not  appear  upon  the  surface,  that  also 
suggest  the  standard  of  living. 

I  have  thought  sometimes  that  somebody  ought  to  write 
up  the  contribution  which  the  United  States  has  made  to  modern 
civilization.  It  would  be  a  very  large  book,  indeed,  in  which 
you  should  write  that  contribution.  But  when  you  come  to 
the  matter  of  criminal  law,  I  think  the  Judge  will  agree  with 
me,  and  perhaps  some  others  here  who  are  lawyers — your  hon- 
ored president — that  the  United  States  have  made  their  contri- 
butions of  great  importance  in  this  history  of  the  world  and  in 
our  modern  civilization.  One  of  them  is  that  which  has  just 
been  alluded  to  by  the  Judge,  the  system  of  juvenile  courts. 
A  second  is,  the  probation  system  for  adults,  which  historically 


44  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

preceded  that  of  the  juvenile  court;  and,  third,  is  the  establish- 
ment of  the  indeterminate  sentence,  coupled  with  a  reformatory 
system  for  the  correction  of  the  corrigible  offender.  Those  three 
things  stand  out  as  large  and  distinct  contributions  of  the  United 
States.  Historically  they  come  in  the  other  direction. 

In  1900  it  was  the  city  of  Chicago  that  first  established  by 
law  the  juvenile  court.  It  was  our  good  friend  of  whom  you 
have  spoken,  Judge  Lindsey,  who  took  it  up  with  great  personal 
power  and  showed  its  possibilities.  It  has  gone  over  this  coun- 
try. It  is  established  here  in  the  State  of  California.  It  is  being 
established  in  Europe. 

Four  years  ago  I  wrote  a  report  for  the  United  States,  pub- 
lished by  the  United  States  for  the  International  Prison  Com- 
mission, and  at  the  meeting  of  the  congress  in  Budapest,  brought 
up  the  subject  of  juvenile  courts.  It  was  recommended  to  the 
countries  of  all  the  civilized  world.  And  now  you  find  that  in 
England,  in  France  and  in  Germany,  and  Switzerland,  they  have 
already  established  them.  They  are  discussing  it  in  Hungary 
and  Italy.  I  have  had  letters  from  South  Africa,  Australia  and 
New  Zealand.  It  is,  indeed,  going  around  the  world.  That  is 
one  thing. 

Then,  another  is  this  probation  system  for  adults;  the  same 
idea,  which  I  say  historically  preceded  the  other  one.  It  began 
in  old  Massachusetts,  where  I  had  the  joy  of  living  35  years.  It 
was  developed  by  an  individual,  who  went  to  the  court,  secured 
the  confidence  of  the  judge — old  Father  Cook;  he  has  had  a  few 
successors  there — and  told  the  judge  that,  if  he  would  put  such 
and  such  a  boy  or  man  on  probation,  he  would  be  responsible 
for  him.  Sentence  was  suspended.  The  man  was  placed  on  pro- 
bation. They  found  that  it  worked  well.  Then  the  city  adopted 
it.  Then  the  state  adopted  it.  Then  in  France  they  saw  what 
Massachusetts  was  doing.  They  adopted  it  in  France  and  in 
Belgium.  And  two  years  ago  in  France  they  put  on  probation 
39,000  offenders;  not  with  our  system  of  probation  which  we 
have  here,  but  under  a  system  of  suspended  sentences.  And 
France  is  the  only  country  in  the  world  where  you  can  tell 
whether  the  system  is  a  success  or  a  failure,  because  they  know, 
when  a  man  is  arrested,  whether  he  has  been  arrested  before ; 
and  they  find  that  not  five  in  a  hundred  fall  back.  They  have 
adopted  it  in  Belgium,  and  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  now 
we  are  extending  it  over  the  United  States;  and  I  hope  before 
long  that  the  federal  government  will  adopt  it. 

Another  thing  is  the  reformatory  system  ;  the  indeterminate 
sentence  being  tho  legal  ^ide  of  it,  and  the  institution  being  the 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  45 

practical  working  out  of  the  possibility  which  the  indeterminate 
sentence  unfolds. 

Now,  many  judges  have  said  to  me  that  they  wished  they 
might  be  relieved  from  the  burden  of  the  time  sentence,  that 
of  being  obliged  to  say,  when  a  man  is  sent  to  prison,  how 
long  he  must  stay  there.  We  do  not  ask  our  doctors  to  say  that, 
when  a  man  is  sent  to  a  hospital ;  we  do  not  ask  him  to  say 
when  he  shall  come  out.  All  that  he  says  is  when  the  man  shall 
go  in. 

We  are  coming  now  to  a  legal  system,  by  which  the  Judge 
has  the  same  opportunity  and  is  relieved  from  the  responsibility 
which  has  long  been  a  burden.  It  is  simply  to  say  that  this  man 
or  this  boy,  this  offender,  is  a  person  that  needs  correction.  And 
then  the  question  comes  up,  whether  that  correction  can  be 
effected  in  society,  or  whether  he  must  be  taken  out  of  society. 
We  are  finding  out  that  thousands  and  thousands  of  men  here 
in  this  country,  as  in  France,  can  be  corrected  without  going  to 
prison ;  and  all  that  they  need  is,  first,  to  be  brought  face  to 
face  with  the  fact  that  they  may  go  to  prison ;  to  come,  as  the 
apostle  said,  or  as  the  prodigal  son  said,  to  come  to  himself;  as  in 
-  when  -  — threw  the  hatchet  at  one  of  his  soldiers,  it 
went  out  of  his  hand,  and  suddenly  he  came  to  himself  and  saw 
what  he  had  done.  Now,  there  are  those  offenders  that  need  to 
be  placed  face  to  face  with  themselves  and  then  to  be 
Dlacecl  under  the  servants  of  the  courts,  under  efficient  ad- 
ministration, so  that  they  need  not  go  out  of  society,  they  need 
not  be  displaced  industriously,  they  need  not  break  up  their 
homes ;  but  they  can  go  out  and  do  their  work,  and  they  can 
be  corrected  and  saved.  Another  thing  they  can  do:  In  some 
cases  restitution  may  be  made  for  the  offense  they  have  com- 
mitted. That  is  one  thing  we  have  in  the  State  of  New  York. 
In  the  association,  of  which  I  am  the  secretary,  the  prison  asso- 
ciation of  New  York,  we  insist,  when  possible,  that  restitution 
should  be  made  for  all  these  petit  larcenies ;  and  sometimes  we 
raise,  as  last  year,  five  thousand  dollars,  from  prisoners,  and 
pay  it  back,  or  insist  that  the  prisoners  shall  pay  it  back. 

A  probation  case  came  up  to  me  but  a  few  weeks  ago.  It 
was  Johnnie  Sullivan,  I  think.  And  he  came  to  me  and  said  that 
he  had  been  put  on  probation  by  the  judge  and  he  had  to  pay- 
back $200  and  pay  it  back  $10  a  month.  And  so  for  19  months 
he  had  paid  ten  dollars  a  month,  and  now  was  to  pay  his  last 
ten  dollars.  When  a  man  is  willing  to  work,  to  put  clown  the 
money — to  plank  it  down,  as  we  say — it  is  pretty  good  evidence 
of  his  conversion;  his  economic  conversion.  We  find  that  resti- 


46  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

tution  can  be  made  in  a  great  many  cases,  and  it  isn't  necessary 
to  send  a  man  to  prison. 

We  find  that  about  90  per  cent  of  those  that  are  put  on 
probation  can  be  saved;  and  that  is  a  little  better  result  than 
with  those  put  in  prison. 

Another  question  is,  If  a  man  cannot  be  corrected  in  so- 
ciety, what  shall  we  do  with  him  when  we  send  him  away? 
The  probation  question  helps  the  legal  side  of  the  case,  because 
it  practically  does  away  with  the  necessity  of  the  short  sentence. 
The  short  sentence  has  been  one  of  the  worst  things  with  which 
we  have  had  to  deal ;  sending  a  man  for  five  days  or  ten  days  or 
a  month  or  two  months.  Under  the  probation  system,  it  isn't 
necessary.  If  he  is  a  fit  person  to  be  given  another  opportunity, 
let  him  have  it.  If  probation  fails  with  him,  then  he  must  be 
sent  out  and  placed  under  influences  which  may  correct  and  de- 
velop and  discipline  him.  And  there  is  no  reform,  or  but  very 
little,  in  sending  a  man  for  a  few  months  to  prison,  only  to  come 
out  again  and  repeat  his  crime  and  go  back  again.  I  have 
known  cases  of  men  having  been  sentenced  150  times.  I  have 
left  out  the  case  in  Scotland,  where  a  woman  was  sent  up  333 
times;  and  the  judge,  in  sending  that  woman  up  the  333rd  time, 
did  not  take  into  account  the  fact  that  she  had  been  sent  332 
times  before ;  simply  sending  her  to  prison  for  the  last 
single  act  that  she  had  committed,  with  no  relation  to  her  char- 
acter. We  want  to  better  that  system ;  and  it  is  coming  through 
the  adoption  of  the  indeterminate  sentence.  We  shall  find  out 
something  about  this  man  or  that  woman,  and  then  we  will  put 
him  or  her  into  a  place  where  they  will  not  be  made  worse  but 
where  the  State  will  do  something  to  make  them  better. 

How  utterly  absurd  is  it  to  do  as  we  do  in  thousands  of  cases 
and  send  our  criminals  to  institutions  in  the  name  of  the  State, 
where  they  are  made  malefactors  by  the  State — made  worse 
than  they  were  before.  And  all  this  sewage,  this  social  sewage, 
is  turned  out  again.  It  has  its  inflow  into  the  prison,  and  its 
back-flow  into  society;  and  it  pours  out  without  filtering  it  or 
improving  it. 

Gentlemen,  there  are  a  good  many  things  I  could  speak  of 
in  regard  to  the  tendencies  of  modern  penology.  I  could  only 
mention  and  just  catalog  them.  I  can't  expound  them,  for  it  is 
time  for  you  to  be  released  from  the  punishment  which  the  judge, 
through  me,  has  inflicted  upon  you.  I  am  working  out  my  sen- 
tence. One  is  this,  which  I  think  is  very  important — that  we 
shall  so  correct  the  offender  as  not  to  lay  too  great  a  burden  upon 
the  family — an  economic  burden.  Who  are  the  persons  that  are 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  47 


punished  by  the  State?  They  are  not  always  at  San  Quentin, 
not  at  Folsom.  They  are  not  in  your  jails.  You  can  go  and  find 
the  defendant  in  the  mass  of  the  prisoners.  The  poor  wife,  who 
is  slaving  to  pay  her  rent;  the  poor  children  who  are  suffering 
the  pangs  of  hunger;  the  hard- worked  mother;  these  are  often 
the  persons  that  the  State  is  punishing  more  than  the  man  who 
has  his  shelter  and  his  food  secure  and  has  not  that  necessity. 

Well,  now,  we  need  some  system  by  which  the  family  shall 
not  be  punished.  The  probation  system  has  this  advantage: 
That,  if  possible,  a  man  can  go  on  with  his  work  and  the  family 
can  be  kept  together.  But  when  we  take  him  out  of  the  family  and 
put  him  in  prison,  what  then?  Why,  we  have  established  a  sys- 
tem of  slavery.  I  don't  think  it  is  just.  I  don't  know  why  a  man 
who  has  proven  that  he  can't  live  in  society  and  needs  to  go  out 
should  thereby  be  enslaved.  I  think  it  is  very  reasonable  to  ask 
of  him  that  he  should  pay  the  cost  of  his  living  to  the  State ;  and 
there  are  few  men  who  go  to  prison  who  couldn't  pay  the  cost 
of  their  living,  if  the  law  would  let  them.  They  could  do  it  in 
the  State  of  New  York,  if  they  were  not  forbidden  by  law.  Be- 
yond that,  they  could  do  something  more.  They  could  do  enough 
to  keep  their  families  out  of  misery. 

We  had  in  our  Sing  Sing  prison  a  man,  a  good  machinist, 
who  could  earn  $4  a  day.  He  is  earning  five  or  six  dollars  a  day 
now.  He  might  just  as  well  have  earned  a  dollar  a  day,  at  least, 
in  prison.  He  could  have  earned  $2  a  day,  but  the  State  of  New 
York  wouldn't  let  him.  He  couldn't  earn  anything,  couldn't 
earn  the  cost  of  his  keep,  even.  So  outside  we  had  to  tide  his 
family  over  until  the  law  released  him. 

The  labor  unions  have  some  ideas,  and  some  of  them,  I  think, 
are  very  unjust  and  very  tyrannical.  I  think  we  should  take  up 
the  subject,  not  only  of  the  prisoner,  but  of  the  prisoner's  home, 
and  see  that  the  man  has  an  opportunity  to  work  to  pay  the  cost 
of  the  support  of  his  family. 

Another  thing:  The  economic  motive  is  one  of  the  great 
forces.  You  feel  it  yourself.  Take  it  away  from  the  members 
of  this  community,  and  perhaps  you  wouldn't  work  ten  hours 
a  day,  or  eight  hours.  You  might  be  content  to  work  three.  But 
take  away  the  economic  motive  and  take  away  all  the  impulses 
that  come  through  industry  and  labor  and  its  rewards,  and  so- 
ciety would  be  largely  disintegrated.  Now,  we  have  got  to  bring 
into  our  prison  this  economic  motive.  We  have  it  in  the  peni- 
tentiary at  Baltimore,  where  the  prisoners  last  year  made  $40,000 
for  the  State,  and  they  made  $40,000  for  themselves  ;  and  it  is  a 
very  good  thing  when  the  woman  comes  up  there  once  a  week 


48  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


to  get  her  five  dollars  to  pay  her  rent  at  home;  a  very  good  thing. 
(Applause.) 

Gentlemen,  I  have  talked  longer  than  I  expected  to.  I  only 
want  to  say  one  thing  in  conclusion,  and  that  is  this:  Don't  ex- 
pect the  State  to  do  it  all,  as  a  bit  of  machinery.  Personality 
enters  into  it.  The  personality  of  the  judge  who  runs  the  juvenile 
court  enters  into  it.  There  must  be  manhood  there;  and  I  am 
glad  to  say  that  you  have  the  personality  here  in  your  juvenile 
court  in  Los  Angeles.  (Applause.)  And  then  remember  that 
you  also  have  an  opportunity  to  join  with  the  State  in  helping 
the  man  when  he  comes  out.  It  is  quite  a  remarkable  thing  in 
Indianapolis  that  there  are  150  business  men  who  are  willing 
to  take  cases  from  the  juvenile  cojrt.  I  have  been  there  and 
seen  it.  A  business  man  will  come  up  and  say,  "I  will  take  this 
boy  and  I  will  help  look  after  him."  We  are  beginning  to  know 
the  means  by  which  every  one  of  those  boys  in  New  York  who 
are  placed  on  probation  will  have  some  friend  who  can  give 
them  some  of  the  light  of  his  brain,  his  sympathy,  his  kindness. 

Sometimes  these  fellows  need  friends  to  help  them  along 
by  suggestion  and  impulse.  If  we  had  one  good,  Christian, 
human  man  for  every  prisoner  that  came  out,  I  think  the  con- 
ditions would  be  very  much  better. 

One  of  the  great  writers  on  social  questions  said,  what  we 
need  is  more  light,  and  more  love  and  more  justice;  and  I  think 
that  is  so,  too,  of  our  penal  system.  A  little  more  light  on  these 
troubles;  a  little  more  light  into  our  souls;  when  you  come  into 
the  prison,  itself,  the  right  of  every  prisoner  to  have  the  air  and 
sunlight.  A  little  more  love.  Do  not  think  of  it  as  a  weak  senti- 
mentality. It  is  the  greatest  force  in  the  world.  And  it  has  its 
advantages  in  society :  To  change  those  conditions,  not  to  make 
him  a  prisoner  outside  but  to  make  him  a  prisoner  inside;  to 
change  them  into  conditions  which  shall  vivify  and  reconstruct 
and  improve  and  make  him  a  man  again,  so  that  he  can  say,  as 
one  boy  came  to  me  and  said  of  our  reformatory:  "I  thank  God 
that  I  went  to  that  institution."  What  a  glory  that  is  for  the 
State,  instead  of  the  stigma  that  we  cause  to  be  placed  upon  it. 
(Applause.) 

Mr.  Ilimsaker — The  time  is  late,  but  I  know  you  gentlemen 
would  be  glad  to  hear  a  word  from  Mr.  Gates,  the  secretary  of 
the  State  Board  of  Corrections  and  Charities.  Mr.  Gates.  (Ap- 
plause.) 


Report  and  Klanual  for  Probation  Officers  49 

Address  of  Mr.  W.  A.  Gates 

Secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Corrections  and  Charities 

Mr.  Gates — Mr.  President  and  Gentlemen  : — 

I  came  pretty  near — not  quite — being-  at  one  other  meeting, 
some  time  last  winter.  I  happened  to  be  a  guest  at  the  hotel  and 
was  out  in  the  lobby,  and  they  told  me  that  the  City  Club  was 
meeting  in  here.  I  took  a  look  in  at  the  door  and  I  saw  L.  C. 
Gates  sitting  at  the  table,  and  George  A.  Gates  expounding  the 
doctrine,  and  I  thought  there  were  Gates  enough,  and  I  retired. 

Dr.  Barrows  has  spoken  of  himself  as  a  tramp.  I  want  to 
correct  him  a  little  upon  that.  Dr.  Barrows  isn't  out  here  exactly 
as  a  hobo.  The  hobo  comes  uninvited.  The  State  Conference 
on  Charities  and  Corrections  has  asked  Dr.  Barrows  out  here, 
and  he  comes  out  here  now  in  response  to  that  invitation ;  and  he 
is  going  to  speak  to  us  up  above  San  Francisco  Bay  ;  and  I  am 
glad  he  has  had  an  opportunity  down  here  to  say  something  of 
prison  reform  and  to  help  us  to  get  established  in  this  city  that 
system  of  reforms  which  we  are  seeking. 

The  State  Board  of  Charities  and  Corrections,  you  all  know, 
is  a  board  created  by  legislative  act.  It  is  your  own  board,  and 
is  appointed  by  the  Governor,  with  long  terms  of  service,  and 
your  distinguished  superintendent  of  schools  is  a  member  of 
the  board.  It  is  the  duty  of  that  board  to  stand  between  the 
people  of  the  State  and  its  institutions,  and  to  recommend  to  the 
Governor  and  the  legislature  every  two  years  the  reforms  which 
we  think  ought  to  be  made. 

Now,  it  will  not  be  a  breach  of  confidence  when  I  tell  you 
that  we  are  going  to  ask  of  the  next  legislature  to  establish  in 
this  State  a  modern  reformatory.  (Applause.)  And  I  am  glad 
of  the  privilege  of  coming  here  today  and  telling  you  that,  and 
asking  for  your  support,  because  it  is  only  possible  to  secure  a 
reform  of  this  kind  by  having  the  support  of  the  business  men 
of  the  State.  We  must  have  public  opinion. 

Judge  Wilbur  has  told  you  of  what  the  present  condition  of 
our  prisons  is.  Do  you  know  that  we  stand  in  prison  population 
in  proportion  to  our  other  population  among  the  first  states  of 
the  Union?  The  only  states  above  us,  according  to  the  United 
vStates  census,  are  Nevada,  Montana,  Arizona  and  Florida — no 
leading  State.  With  the  exception  of  those  we  have  the  largest 
proportion  of  prison  population  to  the  other  population  of  any 
State  in  the  Union. 

Why?    Many  will  tell  you  that  it  is  because  we  are  away  on 


50  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

the  border  line.  But  that  isn't  all.  It  is  because  our  system  is 
such  that  we  are  making  men  worse  and  not  making  them  better. 
We  put  a  man  in  San  Ouentin  or  Folsom  prison  for  a  certain 
number  of  years,  and  we  turn  him  out ;  but  while  we  keep  him 
there,  we  just  grind  criminality  right  into  him.  We  don't  cure 
him.  Can  we  ever  expect  to  get  out  of  our  present  condition,  so 
long  as  we  are  making  men  worse  instead  of  making  them  better? 
That  is  what  we  are  doing. 

Now,  we  want  this  State  to  establish  a  modern  reformatory. 
We  want  it  to  have  a  separate  board  of  managers  from  the  prison 
directors,  because  they  are  thinking  of  one  thing;  they  look  on 
the  side  of  punishment.  We  want  a  board  that  looks  upon  the 
side  of  reformation.  We  want  a  separate  board  to  manage  a  re- 
formatory of  this  kind. 

There  are  in  our  two  prisons  today  about  800  men  that  would 
have  been  subject  to  this  reformatory.  It  should  be  for  men 
not  under  16  and  not  over  30,  and  who  had  never  been  convicted 
of  felony  before.  Think  of  it !  About  800  young  men  to  fill  an 
institution  of  this  kind.  But  instead  we  are  throwing  them  into 
San  Quentin  Prison. 

A  boy  arrived  there  not  long  ago,  in  knee  pants,  not  14  years 
old,  on  a  14-year  sentence.  I  say  that  is  a  disgrace  to  any  civil- 
ized community.  (Great  applause.)  There  are  several  other 
boys  up  there.  He  is  not  the  only  one.  They  range  in  ages  all 
the  way  from  14  years  up ;  and  we  are  putting  them  in  there  as 
associates  with  the  vilest  criminals  that  this  country  knows.  Can 
we  expect  any  reformation? 

In  order  to  make  the  first  advance  in  reform,  it  is  necessary 
that  we  have  a  State  reformatory ;  and  we  hope  that  the  delega- 
tion from  Los  Angeles  County  will  come  up  to  Sacramento  this 
winter  prepared  to  establish  in  this  State  a  modern  reformatory. 

As  Dr.  Barrows  has  told  you,  we  will  have  the  indetermi- 
nate sentence.  Dr.  Barrows  drew  a  model  bill  for  a  reforma- 
tory in  Oklahoma ;  and  through  the  courtesy  of  the  commission- 
ers of  charities  of  Oklahoma,  I  have  a  copy  of  that  bill,  and  I 
hope  that  some  good  member  of  the  legislature  will  take  that  bill, 
and  with  a  few  changes  to  suit  our  conditions,  introduce  the 
model  bill  which  Dr.  Barrows  prepared  for  the  State  of  Okla- 
homa. That  is  what  we  hope. 

Judge  Wilbur  has  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  we  have 
from  two  men  up.  to  the  cell.  We  have  all  that.  We  have  no 
classification  whatever:  but  we  have  a  congregate  system — a 
mingling  together  of  all  of  these  prisoners.  We  have  no  prisons, 
as  we  might  say  :  We  have  two  great  corrals.  Nothing  else. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  51 

Two  over-grown  county  jails  in  this  State  that  we  call  prisons. 

Those  prisoners  ought  to  be  graded  into  three  classes,  and 
with  distinguishing  uniforms,  so  that  they  can  go  from  one  class 
to  the  other ;  and  no  prisoner  can  come  out  on  parole  until  he 
has  passed  through  a  certain  time  in  the  first  grade  and  has 
earned  his  right  to  parole.  And  in  my  opinion,  although  the  time 
perhaps  is  not  ripe  in  this  State  yet,  no  prisoner  should  come 
out  of  State-  prison  on  a  discharge.  He  should  come  out  first 
upon  parole,  and  be  placed  in  a  position  which  a  State  agent  has 
provided  for  him,  and  then  be  looked  after  until  he  has  served 
an  apprenticeship  outside,  of,  say,  one  year;  when,  if  his  conduct 
is  good,  he  may  be  discharged.  Such  systems  prevail  in  other 
states. 

And  do  you  know,  in  Indiana,  under  the  parole  system  in 
the  reformatory  and  prisons,  the  earnings  of  the  prisoners  in 
ten  years  on  parole  amount  to  an  enormous  sum?  More  than  a 
million  dollars,  I  believe  it  is;  more  than  a  million  dollars  that 
they  have  earned  outside  while  on  parole;  while,  if  kept  in  prison 
under  the  New  York  system  or  under  our  system,  they  would 
have  been  an  expense  to  the  State  and  would  not  have  earned 
anything. 

So  this  whole  system  is  a  system  of  making  men,  instead 
of  making  criminals.  Let  us  reverse  the  process  that  California 
has  been  going  through,  and  let  us  make  men  for  awhile,  instead 
of  making  criminals.  And  I  will  guarantee  that,  if  we  can  have 
such  laws  as  these,  in  the  course  of  ten  years  we  will  have  fewer 
prisoners  than  we  have  today;  and  instead  of  standing  among 
the  first  states  in  the  Union  in  criminal  population,  we  will  stand 
down  among  the  other  states.  The  State  Board  of  Charities 
can't  do  it.  The  State  Board  of  Prison  Directors  can't  do  it ; 
unless  the  people  of  the  State  of  California  stand  behind  them 
all ;  and  then  these  reforms  can  be  accomplished.  I  thank  you. 
(Applause.) 

Mr.  Hunsaker — The  Club  is  greatly  indebted  to  Dr.  Barrows 
and  Mr.  Gates  for  their  addresses ;  and  we  hope  that  Dr.  Bar- 
rows will  be  with  us  on  some  other  occasion,  and  that  Mr.  Gates 
will  let  the  management  of  this  club  know  when  he  expects  to 
be  in  our  midst,  so  that  we  can  hear  from  him  more  at  length. 
The  club  will  now  stand  adjourned  until  next  Saturday. 


The  Delinquent  Child 

By  Judge  Curtis  D.  Wilbur 

Before  the  Fifth  California  State  Conference  of  Charities 
and  Corrections,   I  908 

A  boy  of  eight  and  a  half  years,  awaiting  trial  in  the  deten- 
tion home,  delivered  himself  of  this  bit  of  philosophy:  "When 
a  man  gets  caught  at  anything  he  has  broken  the  law."  We  are 
still  classifying  the  delinquent  child  in  the  same  way  as  this 
small  boy.  We  refer  to  the  child  who  has  "got  caught"  at  some- 
thing, and  has  got  into  the  juvenile  or  police  court  and  been 
convicted  of  crime,  as  a  "law  breaker."  This  idea  of  classing  the 
man  or  woman  who  has  been  "caught"  as  a  criminal,  and  ignor- 
ing the  fact  that  there  are  hundreds  of  men  and  women,  boys 
and  girls,  who  have  done  the  same  thing,  and  have  not  been 
"caught,"  is  one  which  still  obtains  in  our  work  with  the  chil- 
dren. We  find  certain  institutions  for  child  saving  who  decline 
to  take  boys  and  girls  who  have  been  in  the  juvenile  court.  Why? 
Simply  because  they  have  been  "caught"  doing  something  which 
is  not  approved  of  in  our  daily  life.  We  are  the  same.  We  rub 
elbows  with  men  and  women  in  the  street  car,  clubs,  or  even  the 
church,  who  have  committed  crimes,  who  we  perhaps  know  have 
committed  crimes,  but  until  they  are  caught  and  brought  into 
court  we  are  apt  to  disregard  or  overlook  this  fact,  but  when 
they  are  once  brought  into  court  we  take  great  pleasure  in  snub- 
bing them.  I  am  emphasizing  this  fact  because  it  lies  at  the 
very  foundation  of  juvenile  and  reformatory  work.  It  is  neces- 
sary for  us,  if  we  are  to  be  successful  in  adult  parole  or  probation 
work,  or  in  juvenile  court  work,  to  demand  that  public  opinion 
recognize  the  fact  that  the  boy  or  girl  who  happens  to  be  caught, 
the  man  or  the  woman  who  has  not  been  shrewd  enough  to 
escape,  is  no  worse  than  the  one  who  has  not  been  caught. 

I  think  that  in  the  work  in  the  juvenile  court  in  Los  Angeles 
county  there  have  been  presented  to  me  more  than  2,000  cases 
which  we  have  dealt  with  in  some  way.  I  believe  that  it  is  true 
that  our  probation  officer  and  police  officer  could  go  out,  and  in 
one  afternoon  scare  up  more  than  that  number  of  boys  and  girls 
who  are  worse  morally  than  the  children  in  the  juvenile  court; 
boys  and  girls  who  are  doing  things  that  we  do  not  permit  the 
juvenile  court  boy  or  girl  to  do.  1  believe  one  of  the  first  places 
to  which  the  officer  would  go  on  such  a  quest  would  be  the 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  53 

messenger  offices.  This  is  entirely  outside  of  our  jurisdiction 
and  it  is  the  duty  of  society  to  help  these  boys.  A  member  of 
the  messenger  force  told  me  that  every  member  of  that  force 
(thirty)  was  using  cocaine.  Three  of  them  testified  to  the  same 
thing.  I  asked  a  police  officer  if  he  believed  this  was  true,  and  he 
said  he  did  from  his  experience  with  the  boys.  A  farmer  boy  who 
came  to  the  city  to  work  testified  that  he  had  been  working  on 
the  messenger  force,  and  that,  while  he  did  not  feel  at  liberty  to 
tell  us  exactly  what  he  knew,  the  common  and  accepted  thing 
among  messenger  boys  was  that  every  boy  on  the  force  was 
unchaste.  The  results  are  so  obvious  that  it  is  unnecessary  for 
me  to  explain. 

If  we  are  to  deal  at  all  with  the  question  of  the  delinquent 
child,  we  must  seek  out  the  cause  of  delinquency.  The  per- 
manent value  of  the  work  of  the  juvenile  court  is  not  only  that 
a  great  many  boys  and  girls  have  been  saved  from  lives  of  crime 
to  lives  of  usefulness  and  decency,  but  the  fact  that  we  are  work- 
ing to  seek  out  the  cause  of  their  downfall  and  to  remove  such 
cause.  The  first  thing  we  find  is  the  defective  home.  The  task 
of  finding  the  exact  cause  in  the  case  of  every  delinquent  or  de- 
pendent child  is  not  an  easy  one.  We  will  find  in  almost  every 
case  certain  conditions  that  stand  out  and  appear  to  the  obvious 
cause  of  delinquency,  and  yet,  if  we  get  at  the  root  of  the  matter, 
we  will  find  that  this  is  not  the  case.  Defective  home  conditions, 
the  loss  of  father  or  mother,  the  widowed  mother  seeking  to  earn 
a  bare  livelihood  for  herself  and  children,  unable  to  exercise  any 
discipline  or  give  any  moral  discipline,  are  contributing  causes. 
I  will  only  refer  to  the  man  who  has  gone  wrong,  or  to  the 
woman  who  has  gone  wrong,  and  has  deserted  the  family  or  re- 
mains in  it  an  example  of  depravity,  leading  the  children  astray. 

Then  comes  the  physical  defects.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  in 
our  juvenile  court  every  boy  or  girl  receives  a  physical  examina- 
tion. I  think  that  this  is  absolutely  essential.  A  boy  was  arrested 
for  assaulting  his  mother,  at  least  that  was  the  charge  made,  but 
when  she  came  to  court  it  was  a  very  mild  affair.  The  boy  had 
been  suffering  for  years  with  adenoid  growth  in  his  throat  to 
such  an  extent  that  the  bony  structure  of  his  head  was  affected. 
The  brain  cavity  was  smaller  than  it  should  be,  but  there  were 
some  other  physical  defects  more  startling,  and  these  were  enough 
to  account  for  the  incorrigibility  of  the  boy.  The  number  of 
children  who  have  been  operated  upon  for  physical  defects,  in 
the  juvenile  courts  of  Los  Angeles,  I  should  guess  at  30  per  cent. 
I  was  talking  with  the  Governor  of  this  State  on  the  subject,  and 
he  asked  me  what  authority  we  had  to  operate  on  these  children. 


54  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


I  hadn't  thought  of  that  before.  Why  worry  over  the  law  when 
a  little  common  sense  exercised  in  the  right  place  will  solve  the 
problem.  I  do  not  want  to  detract  from  the  law,  but  where  a 
judge  and  a  doctor  advise  that  an  operation  will  help  the  boy  to 
be  better,  ninety-nine  out  of  one  hundred  parents  will  want  to 
have  it  done,  and  the  only  question  is  the  question  of  expense. 
We  must  solve  the  problem  in  this  common  sense  way. 

Among  the  causes  of  delinquency  in  children  is  the  reading 
of  cheap  literature.  One  boy  who  had  confessed  to  something 
like  fifty  burglaries  when  asked  if  he  had  been  reading  novels, 
said  he  had,  but  he  didn't  know  how  many.  When  I  asked  him 
whether  it  was  one,  fifty  or  five  hundred,  he  answered,  "five 
hundred."  There  are  books  exposed  publicly  on  your  streets, 
for  they  are  in  Los  Angeles  and  San  Francisco,  for  sale  which  I 
wouldn't  dare  to  read.  I  wouldn't  even  read  them  to  find  out 
what  is  in  them  so  as  to  warn  others  not  to  read  them.  That  is 
the  common  excuse.  You  may  be  able  to  think  of  some  of 
these  books  to  which  I  refer.  We  must  do  away  with  vile  and 
obscene  literature  and  pictures. 

We  speak  of  first  offenders.  Let  me  remind  you  that  we 
do  not  know  anything  about  first  offenders.  It  is  the  first  time 
they  have  been  caught.  Please  remember  that.  I  remember 
when  I  first  took  up  the  work  I  thought  if  a  boy  came  back  the 
second  time  he  should  be  punished,  and  if  it  was  the  third  or 
fourth  time,  it  followed  as  the  night  the  day,  that  something 
radical  must  be  done.  In  my  own  work  I  have  abandoned  any 
such  measure.  We  say  much,  and  have  said  much,  about  the 
habit  of  wrong  doing.  We  have  apparently  not  realized  that 
there  is  just  as  much  to  be  said  about  the  habit  of  right  doing. 
We  are  commencing  to  feel  in  our  work  in  Los  Angeles  in  the 
case  of  a  boy  who  played  truant  every  week,  that  when  he  be- 
comes a  truant  only  once  a  month,  or  only  once  in  six  months ; 
or  in  the  case  of  the  boy  who  used  to  steal  every  time  he  got  a 
chance,  and  who  now  steals  less  often,  that  we  are  gaining 
ground  and  establishing  habits  of  right  doing.  \Ve  have  a  plan 
of  keeping  the  records  of  the  boys  and  girls  graphically,  so  that 
they  can  see  how  they  stand.  The  boy  who  has  made  a  good 
record,  but  has  committed  a  second  offense,  is  given  a  new 
chance.  This  has  met  with  almost  startling  success.  We  have 
had  boys  who  when  on  probation  refused  to  report,  boys  on  pro- 
bation who  had  committed  other  offenses  and  with  whom  we 
felt  something  radical  must  be  done.  Several  times  when  on  the 
verge  of  sending  a  boy  to  the  Whittier  or  Preston  school  I  have 
hesitated  and  continued  the  case  a  week,  requiring  the  boy  to 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  55 


report  to  me  the  next  week,  and  so  I  have  dropped  on  this  ex- 
pediency of  requiring  the  boy  to  report  in  open  court  at  regular 
intervals  until  we  find  he  can  be  again  trusted  to  report  to  the 
probation  officer. 

SPECIAL  SCHOOLS. 

We  have  in  Los  Angeles  four  special  schools,  presided  over 
by  men  of  mentality  and  muscle,  and  to  these  ungraded  rooms 
the  truants  are  sent.  The  teachers  claim  that  their  school  attend- 
ance is  better  than  that  of  the  other  schools  in  the  city. 

BOY  TRAMPS. 

The  problem  of  the  boy  tramp,  the  boy  that  will  not  "stay 
put,"  is  the  hardest.  We  will  have  the  solution  of  the  problem 
when  every  county  has  a  juvenile  court,  and  every  boy  caught 
riding  the  brakebeam  is  taken  into  court  and  returned  to  his 
locality.* 

If  we  are  to  deal  with  the  child  or  the  man  with  a  view  of 
reforming  him,  we  must  deal  with  him  in  a  way  that  he  will 
know  he  will  get  a  square  chance  even  if  he  tells  the  truth  con- 
cerning his  offense.  There  are  grave  consequences  to  telling 
the  truth.  But  I  want  to  tell  you  that  at  least  98  per  cent  of  those 
coming  before  the  juvenile  court  have  practically  confessed 
their  guilt.  They  have  the  idea  that  they  stand  better  with  the 
judge  if  they  tell  the  truth,  and  after  all,  what  a  man  most  wants 
is  to  stand  in  well  with  the  judge  who  has  his  fate  in  keeping. 
Two  boys  were  talking  about  this.  One  said,  "Well,  I  am  going 
to  tell  the  judge  the  truth."  The  other  replied,  "Well,  you  must 
be  a  friend  of  the  judge."  The  reply  was,  "He  is  a  friend  of  all 
the  boys."  We  must  have  that  spirit  among  the  "boys  and  girls, 
and  to  a  large  extent  among  the  men,  if  we  are  to  be  successful 
in  our  probation  work. 


*This  is  now  being  done. 


"Our  grand  business   is  not   to  see  what   lies  dimly   in   the 
distance  but  to  do  what  lies  clearly  at  hand." — Carlyle. 

"To  improve  the  golden  moment  of  opportunity  and  catch 
the  good   that   is   within  our   reach,   is   the   great  art   of   life."- 
Tohnson. 


Instructions  of  Judge  Curtis  D.Wilbur 
to  the  Probation  Officers 

April  7,   1909 


PROBATION  OFFICERS— PEACE  OFFICERS. 

Judge  Wilbur — I  want  to  spoak  to  you  this  morning  con- 
cerning the  duties  of  the  probation  officer.  Of  course  I  will  not 
take  the  time  to  speak  of  the  duties  as  outlined  in  the  statute, 
which  you  can  find  by  turning  to  the  statute  itself;  except  to 
remind  you  that  the  new  law  for  the  first  time  makes  probation 
officers  peace  officers,  so  you  have  the  same  powers  of  arrest 
that  a  sheriff  or  policeman  has. 

ARRESTS. 

I  will  not  go  into  details  with  reference  to  those  powers. 
That  you  can  take  up  later.  The  purpose  in  making  that  change 
in  the  law  was  not  only  to  enable  the  probation  officers  to  serve 
processes,  but  also  to  make  arrests,  principally  in  the  case  of 
children.  Heretofore  the  probation  officers  had  no  authority  to 
make  arrests  of  children,  except  in  their  capacity  as  citizens, 
unless  those  children  were  already  on  probation  and  under  the 
supervision  of  that  particular  probation  officer.  The  new  law, 
as  I  say,  gives  the  same  power  of  arrest  that  a  peace  officer  has. 
Indeed  you  are  peace  officers,  and  the  purpose  of  the  law,  as  I 
have  indicated,  was  to  give  that  power  with  special  reference  to 
children  and  also  with  reference  to  the  offenses  concerning  chil- 
dren. You  understand  the  power  is  not  limited  in  the  law  itself, 
but  J  am  giving  you  my  ideas  as  to  the  limitations  under  which 
you  should  act.  I  will  not  take  the  time  now  to  inform  you  as 
to  the  right  of  arrest,  except  to  say  in  a  general  way  that  the 
right  of  arrest  in  case  of  any  individual  citizen  is  very  much  the 
same  as  that  in  the  case  of  a  peace  officer,  except  that  the  peace 
officer  has  a  right  to  act  upon  information  furnished  to  him,  while 
the  citizen  who  arrests,  arrests  at  his  peril.  In  other  words,  if  a 
peace  officer  is  informed  in  a  way  which  would  lead  him  to  be- 
lieve that  an  offense  had  been  committed,  he  has  a  right  to  arrest, 
whereas  if  a  citizen  makes  an  arrest  under  such  circumstances, 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  57 

and  the  offense  is  found  not  to  have  been  committed,  he  would 
be  liable  for  false  imprisonment.  I  believe  you  should  ordinarily 
confine  your  exercise  of  the  right  of  arrest  to  cases  in  connection 
with  the  work  of  child  reform. 

DUTIES  GENERALLY  STATED. 

A  Northern  probation  officer  in  writing  concerning  the  new 
law  made  this  very  happy  remark  concerning  the  new  Juvenile 
Court  Law :  "Now,  the  gospel  has  been  made  the  law." 

And  what  I  want  more  particularly  to  speak  about,  is 
the  spirit  of  the  Juvenile  Court  Law.  You  are  charged  as  officers 
with  the  most  important  trust  placed  in  any  set  of  officers.  Jesus 
Christ  said  of  his  mission  that  he  came  to  seek  and  save  those 
that  were  lost;  and  that  is  exactly  the  mission  of  the  probation 
officers,  to  seek  and  to  save  those  that  are  lost.  I  want  you  in 
your  thought  and  in  your  prayers  *  to  realize  that  this 

is  a  most  important  criterion.  There  will,  of  course,  have  to  be, 
with  as  many  probation  officers  as  we  now  have,  some  system 
of  distributing  the  work,  but  you  will  realize  that  all  of  you  are 
charged  with  the  high  duty  of  doing  your  best  for  those  who  are 
put  in  your  charge  and  to  further  the  general  work  of  child  bet- 
terment in  this  county  and  indeed  throughout  the  State.  It  is  as 
impossible  to  define  the  duties  of  a  probation  officer  as  it  is  to 
define  the  duties  of  parents.  Both  can  be  defined,  but  of  course 
must  be  defined  in  the  most  general  terms.  The  duty  of  a  parent 
as  far  as  the  law  is  concerned  can  be  summed  up  in  the  duty  to 
support,  nurture,  and  educate  the  children  confided  to  their  cus- 
tody. But  you  know  this  is  as  broad  as  life  itself.  So,  the  duty 
of  a  probation  officer  in  connection  with  the  children  in  his  or 
her  custody  is  as  broad  as  the  problem  of  life. 

You  will  be  called  upon  to  consider  in  your  work  the  ques- 
tion whether  certain  people  shall  be  allowed  to  marry,  the  effect 
upon  them,  and  upon  the  community;  whether  parents  shall  be 
allowed  to  have  the  custody  of  their  children;  how  that  custody 
shall  be  modified.  You  will  be  called  upon  to  instruct  parents 
in  their  obligations.  There  is  one  thing  which  perhaps  I  have 
already  covered,  which  need  not  be  said  to  those  who  are  in 
the  work,  that  the  first  essential  in  all  this  work  is  kindness.  But 
kindness  without  firmness  is  weakness,  and  there  must  also  be 
firmness. 

The  new  law  is  a  long  step  beyond  anything,  so  far  as  I 
know,  that  has  ever  been  hitherto  contemplated — in  fact,  it  in  a 
large  measure  abolishes  punishment  in  dealing  with  the  child 


58  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


problem.     I  believe  that  punishment  is  essential,  but  it  must  be 
devised  to  fit  the  case. 

BLUFFING. 

Bluffing  I  do  not  approve  of,  and  it  is  not  necessary.  We 
had  a  man  connected  with  the  work  who  brought  a  great  deal 
of  discredit  upon  us  because  of  his  effort  to  continue  the  tactics 
of  the  police  detectives.  I  think  it  has  been  demonstrated  that 
we  can  get  the  truth  from  these  children  by  kindness,  and  I  re- 
gard it  as  one  of  the  first  essentials  in  this  work  that  you  should 
get  the  truth.  Confession  is  not  only  good  for  the  soul,  but  it  is 
essential  to  reformation.  I  have  asked  Captain  Dodds  to  make 
some  assignment  as  to  the  hours  of  work,  and  by  that  I  mean 
of  course  the  hours  when  you  will  be  required  to  be  at  certain 
definite  lines  of  work. 

FINDING  YOUR  OWN  WORK. 

I  consider  that  it  is  essential  in  a  probation  officer  that  there 
shall  be  individual  initiative.  That  is,  that  you  should  not  wait 
for  somebody  to  point  out  work,  but  you  should  find  it.  I  am 
anxious  that  as  the  work  develops  we  shall  take  up  those  prob- 
lems that  we  find  are  touching  child  life;  for  instance,  the  sale 
of  obscene  literature.  There  is  plenty  of  it  sold  here  in  the  city, 
and  it  is  very  easy  to  find  it  and  prosecute  those  cases,  and  I 
want  that  done.  For  instance,  I  suppose  there  are  dozens  of  sta- 
tionery stores  here  in  the  city  selling  the  Decameron  of  Boc- 
caccio, a  nasty,  obscene  book.  They  ought  to  be  prosecuted  for 
selling  it,  and  there  is  plenty  of  law  to  enable  you  to  do  it;  if 
those  matters  are  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  city  prosecutor 
with  the  complaint  and  the  evidence  they  will  be  prosecuted. 

It  will  be  part  of  your  duty  to  adjust  difficulties  you  find 
in  the  home,  and  of  course  here  is  the  place  for  the  exercise  of 
the  utmost  tact.  It  is  essential  to  the  good  of  the  work  that 
we  have  the  co-operation  of  the  parents;  and  perhaps  with  one 
or  two  notable  exceptions  I  think  so  far  in  our  work  we  have 
had  the  co-operation  of  the  parents  before  we  finished  with  the 
case.  When  they  are  persuaded  that  the  purpose  of  the  officers 
of  the  law  is  to  assist  them  in  bettering  their  own  condition  and 
the  condition  of  their  children  they  are  apt  to  accept  the  advice 
and  suggestions  tact  full}-  offered,  and  in  the  spirit  in  which  they 
are  offered.  Here,  as  in  all  other  branches  of  the  work,  the  indi- 
vidual tact  and  judgment  of  the  probation  officer  is  required  and 
is  essential  to  success. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  59 

RELATIONS  WITH  THE  COURT. 

In  regard  to  your  relation  to  the  court,  and  particularly  with 
relation  to  the  judge  of  th.e  court.  It  goes  without  saying,  I  take 
it,  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  probation  officers  to  uphold  the  dig- 
nity and  authority  of  the  law  and  of  the  court.  To  inculcate  in 
both  children  and  parents  the  idea  that  it  is  a  privilege  extended 
to  them  to  have  the  ministrations  of  the  court  and  probation 
officers  instead  of  the  harsh  punishments  inflicted  under  the  crim- 
inal law. 

It  is  well  for  you  all  to  bear  in  mind  in  that  connection  that 
any  case  brought  before  the  juvenile  court  can  be  sent  to  the 
police  court  or  the  Superior  Court  for  proceedings  under  the 
general  law  with  reference  to  the  punishment  of  crime.  This, 
however,  tinder  the  new  law  is  confided  entirely  to  the  judgment 
of  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court.  It  will  be  the  purpose  of  the 
judge  of  the  juvenile  court  to  sustain,  as  far  as  he  consistently 
can,  the  acts  of  the  probation  officers,  and  the  judgment  of  the 
probation  officers.  In  this  connection,  however,  I  want  you  all 
to  bear  in  mind  this  fact:  That  the  judge  of  the  court  must  view 
all  problems  relating  to  children  and  adults  from  a  somewhat 
different  attitude  than  the  probation  officer.  He  must  consider 
not  only  the  welfare  of  the  child,  but  also  the  character  of  the 
offense  involved,  its  general  effect  upon  the  public,  and  in  doing 
so  must  bring  to  bear  his  knowledge  of  the  law  as  a  whole.  I  do 
not  mean  by  this  to  say  that  you  should  not  also  consider  these 
same  matters,  but  the  judge  is  supposed  to  be  a  trained  lawyer, 
able  to  understand  the  general  purpose  of  the  law  as  a  whole, 
and  there  may  be  considerations  arising  from  this  broad  field 
of  the  law  which  may  not  have  occurred  to  you  in  your  work. 
But  it  is  essential  as  far  as  possible  that  there  shall  be  the  utmost 
harmony  between  the  probation  officers  and  court,  and  as  I  have 
said  that  the  hands  of  the  court  be  upheld  by  the  probation 
officers. 

WHAT  IS  THE  JUVENILE  COURT? 

The  juvenile  court  is  largely  what  we  make  it.  We  have 
had  on  the  statute  books  of  this  State  for  the  last  thirty  years 
a  law  almost  as  good  as  the  Juvenile  Court  Law  which  preceded 
the  present  one,  but  it  was  absolutely  a  dead  letter  ;  it  was  never 
enforced  ;  and  no  attention  was  paid  to  it. 

It  should  be  your  general  purpose  in  dealing  with  children 
to  find  out  everything  you  can  about  them  and  their  family  rela- 
tions in  so  far  as  it  affects  the  welfare  of  the  child. 


60  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

In  this  connection  a  physical  examination  by  a  physician 
and  his  advice  in  relation  to  what  shall  be  done  for  the  physical 
betterment  of  the  child  is  advisable.  I  will  not  go  into  details 
on  this  because  it  is  already  in  hand,  and  Captain  Dodds  and 
Mrs.  Byram  will  be  able  to  explain  the  details  concerning  the 
matter. 

ADULT  PROBATION. 

In  regard  to  adult  probation — and  I  may  return  later  to 
juvenile  probation  to  explain  some  of  the  provisions  of  the  new 
law — adult  probation  is  a  comparatively  new  scheme.  It  must 
be  handled  with  the  utmost  discretion  by  all  concerned.  You 
have  this  advantage,  and  this  disadvantage.  You  are  appointed 
by  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court,  and  yet  under  the  law  it  is  your 
duty  to  act  as  probation  officers  for  all  adult  probationers  in  the 
county,  whether  from  the  justice  or  superior  courts.  It  will  be 
assumed  that  you  will  be  able  by  reason  of  the  services  you  may 
render  to  the  judges  in  connection  with  this  adult  probation 
work,  to  establish  yourselves  in  relations  of  friendly  intercourse 
with  the  judge  handling  the  adult  cases.  It  will  be  necessary  for 
you  to  use  the  utmost  tact  and  good  judgment,  for  it  will  be  you 
that  will  shape  the  future  policy  of  the  adult  probation  plan. 
That  policy,  of  course,  will  be  subordinate  to  the  judge  who  has 
the  particular  case  in  hand,  but  nevertheless  you  should  have 
in  your  own  mind  a  general  policy  and  endeavor  so  far  as  possible 
to  bring  the  individual  cases  in  mind  to  that  policy.  I  hope  to 
arrange  a  meeting  at  which  one  or  two  criminal  judges  and  per- 
haps the  two  police  judges  and  all  the  probation  officers  may 
be  in  attendance  in  order  that  the  whole  subject  may  be  dis- 
cussed. Of  course  every  judge  has  his  peculiarities,  as  every  man 
has,  and  his  own  ideas.  Those  you  will  have  to  bow  to  and  har- 
monize with  as  best  you  may. 


THE  JUVENILE  COURT  LAW. 

Now,  to  return  to  the  Juvenile  Court  Law.  I  will  not  under- 
take to  go  into  details  concerning  the  new  Juvenile  Court  Law, 
but  I  want  you  all  to  study  this  first  section  of  the  new  law  and 
get  familiar  with  the  breadth  of  that  provision.  I  want  specially 
to  call  your  attention  to  subdivision  11  of  the  first  section  defin- 
ing a  dependent  child  to  be  one  who  persistently  refuses  to  obey 
the  reasonable  and  proper  order  or  direction  of  its  parent  or 
guardian. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  61 


DISOBEDIENCE  VS.  INCORRIGIBILITY. 

You  see  the  advantage  of  this ;  it  enables  a  child  who  is  dis- 
obedient to  be  brought  before  the  court  without  alleging  incor- 
rigibility.  It  takes  off  that  taint  which  comes,  I  believe,  from 
alleging  that  a  child  is  "incorrigible  and  vicious."  (The  other 
details  of  this  section  I  will  not  go  into  except  to  call  attention 
to  the  new  definition  of  habitual  truancy.) 

CIGARETTE  AND  DRUG  HABITUES. 

I  also  call  your  attention  to  subdivision  15:  "Who 
habitually  uses  intoxicating  liquor  as  a  beverage  or  habitually 
smokes  cigarettes  or  who  habitually  uses  opium,  cocaine,  mor- 
phine or  other  similar  drug,  without  the  direction  of  a  competent 
physician." 

I  think  it  would  be  well  to  inaugurate  some  prosecutions 
simply  on  the  ground  of  habitual  use  of  cigarettes,  for  this  rea- 
son :  it  will  attract  the  'attention  of  the  child  to  that  proposition 
very  forcibly  and  will  concentrate  the  effort  largely  upon  over- 
coming that  habit  which  is  so  often  at  the  bottom  of  a  good  deal 
of  difficulty  in  the  child.  *  *  *  . 

PARENTS'  RELATION  TO  THE  COURT  AND  THE  LAW. 

"No  child  shall  be  taken  from  the  custody  of  its  parent  or 
legal  guardian  without  the  consent  of  such  parent  or  guardian, 
unless  the  court  shall  find  such  parent  or  guardian  to  be  incap- 
able, or  has  failed  or  neglected  to  provide  proper  maintenance, 
training  and  education  for  the  child,  or  unless  such  child  has 
been  tried  on  probation  in  said  custody,  and  has  failed  to  reform, 
or  unless  the  court  shall  find  that  the  welfare  of  said  child  re- 
quires his  custody  shall  be  taken  from  said  child  or  guardian." 

In  Ex-parte  Ricknell  119,  Cal.  496,*  it  was  held  that  the  Whit- 
tier  State  School  Law  providing  that  a  child  charged  with  crime 
might  be  tried  before  the  court  and  sent  to  the  reform  school 
without  a  jury  trial  was  unconstitutional.  That  decision  would 
render  this  law  absolutely  unconstitutional  from  start  to  finish 
(excepting  the  appointment  of  probation  officers)  were  it  not 
for  this  section  I  have  just  read.  In  other  words,  what  I  want 
to  emphasize  to  you  is  this:  That  the  minute  we  undertake  to 
take  a  child  away  from  its  own  home,  excepting  perhaps  mere 
temporary  custody  in  the  detention  home  pending  a  hearing,  we 
must  rely  upon  the  consent  of  the  parent  as  authority  for  so 
doing,  unless  the  parent  is  at  fault,  within  the  meaning  of  this 
section;  and  I  will  say  to  you  that  the  constitutionality  of  the 


62  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

following1  portion  of  this  section  has  not  been  tested :  "*  *  * 
or  unless  said  child  has  been  tried  on  probation  in  said  custody 
and  has  failed  to  reform,  or  unless  the  court  shall  find  that  the 
welfare  of  said  child  requires  his  custody  shall  be  taken  from 
said  parent  or  guardian."  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  clause, 
"or  unless  a  court  shall  find  that  the  welfare  of  said  child  requires 
his  custody  to  be  taken  from  said  parent  or  guardian"  is  uncon- 
stitutional ;  and  I  don't  want  you  in  your  proceedings  to  rely 
upon  that  clause  in  the  law. 

PARENTS'  CONSENT— HOW? 

In  drawing  up  blanks,  a  blank  has  been  provided  for  the 
parents  to  sign  which  expressly  consents  "to  such  order  as  the 
court  may  make."  Where  this  is  done  it  will  give  the  court  full 
jurisdiction.  Blanks  have  also  been  prepared  expressly  giving 
the  consent  of  the  parents  to  the  orders  of  the  court  thereafter 
to  be  made.  Blanks  have  been  prepared  in  which  it  is  alleged 
in  the  petition  that  the  parent  is  incompetent ;  and  of  course  that 
if  true  would  give  the  court  full  jurisdiction. 

The  importance  of  this  phase  of  the  work  I  am  trying  to  em- 
phasize to  you  by  showing  you  that  the  law  practically  ties  the 
hands  of  the  court  unless  this  consent  is  obtained. 

When  we  begin  to  deal  with  children  between  sixteen  and 
eighteen*  years  of  age  it  is  particularly  important  that  the  court 
have  full  jurisdiction,  and  to  that  end  it  may  frequently  be  neces- 
sary for  the  judge  to  send  the  case  back  to  the  justice  court  to 
be  brought  up  and  handled  as  an  ordinary  criminal  case  to  the 
point  of  conviction  or  plea  of  guilty.  Those  of  us  who  are  in 
the  work  realize  that  it  is  essential  that  the  case  be  fully  in  the 
hands  of  the  court  from  the  start,  because  we  are  experimenting 
with  these  children.  We  might  be  willing  to  let  the  child  go  to 
its  own  home,  and  remain  in  the  custody  of  its  parents  or  the 
supervision  of  the  probation  officers,  but  it  may  develop  very 
quickly  that  this  should  not  longer  be  done,  or  it  may  be  a  year 
or  two  years  before  that  fact  is  developed.  It  would  bring  the 
whole  proceeding  of  the  court  into  disrepute  if  at  the  end  of  two 
years  we  find  that  a  boy  who  had  committed  highway  robbery, 
for  instance,  was  before  the  court  and  that  nothing  could  be  done 
without  going  back  and  trying  the  original  case  in  the  police 
court  for  lack  of  parental  consent. 

In  relation  to  all  the  serious  offenses  of  boys  over  fourteen 
the  general  policy  will  be  in  the  event  that  the  consent  of  the 
parents  cannot  be  obtained  before  the  matter  comes  up,  or  at 

*Now  twenty-one. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  63 

the  time  of  the  hearing,  to  send  the  case  to  the  justice  court  for 
examination  and  back  to  the  Superior  Court  for  trial  so  that  the 
complete  jurisdiction  may  be  had.* 

COMMITTMENTS  TO  WHITTIER  AND  PRESTON. 

With  reference  to  committments  to  the  two  State  Schools, 
this  cannot  be  done,  under  the  last-mentioned  provision  of  the 
new  law,  without  the  consent  of  the  parent,  unless  the  parents 
come  within  the  exceptions  last  stated.  *  *  In  this  connec- 

tion I  call  your  attention  to  Section  18  of  the  Juvenile  Court  Law 
which  provides  that  in  cases  of  children  between  eighteen  and 
twenty!  accused  of  a  felony  the  defendant  may  request  the  court 
to  consider  an  application  on  his  part  to  be  committed  to  the  state 
school  and  dealt  with  as  delinquent  under  the  provisions  of  this 
law.  I  am  calling  your  attention  to  that  for  this  reason.  Many 
of  these  boys  between  eighteen  and  twenty!  are  ready  to  plead 
guilty,  and  it  may  be  possible  in  certain' cases  that  they  will  avail 
themselves  of  the  right  to  request  the  court  to  send  them  to  one 
of  these  schools  without  a  trial,  and  without  a  plea.  When  that 
application  is  made  by  the  defendant  for  committment  without 
plea  or  without  trial  the  judge  will  determine  whether  that  should 
be  done,  and  I  say  to  you  that  one  of  the  questions  which  will 
be  considered  by  the  judge  in  determining  that  is  whether  or 
not  there  is  a  fair  chance  that  they  will  reform.  If  there  is  con- 
siderable doubt  about  it  then  I  will,  if  it  is  before  me — and  by 
the  way  these  cases  may  not  come  before  me  hereafter — if  there 
is  considerable  doubt  about  it,  I  think  it  is  better  to  take  the 
plea  of  guilty  or  let  the  young  men  stand  trial  and  be  committed 
with  a  suspended  penitentiary  sentence  over  their  heads,  so  that 
if  they  do  escape  from  the  reform  school  or  misconduct  them- 
selves there,  they  can  be  at  once  without  further  trial  sent  to 
the  penitentiary. 

I  think  I  have  covered  in  a  broad,  general  way,  the  duties 
of  the  probation  officer. 

I  want  to  recur  to  what  I  said  in  starting  out.  that  the  whole 
work  is  essentially  reformatory.  The  whole  work  will  be  largely 
dependent  upon  the  conscientiousness  with  which  you  accept 
the  responsibilities  which  will  be  thrown  upon  you.  It  is  very 
important  that  you  go  into  this  work  in  a  spirit  of  helpfulness 
and  the  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ.  I  trust  that  you  will  work  prayer- 
fully, and  will  seek  in  your  efforts  for  these  children  the  help  of 


*Consent  has  been  given  in  every  case  but  one. 
tNow  twenty-one. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


Almighty  God.     Without  His  help  the  work  will  largely  be  a 
failure,  and  with  it  it  will  be  a  success. 

I  think  you  can  count  yourselves  happy  in  starting  this  work 
that  it  is  already  firmly  established  in  the  popular  mind  as  a 
good  work.  This  has  been  no  easy  task.  I  have  had  the  pleasure 
of  contributing  in  some  measure  to  that  general  opinion ;  Judge 
Lindsey  of  Denver  probably  has  done  more  than  any  other  one 
man  to  bring  that  to  pass.  Do  not  forget  that  success  in  this 
work  will  depend  absolutely  upon  the  co-operation  of  the  public 
and  their  belief  in  the  work.  It  is  therefore  a  part  of  our  duty 
so  far  as  possible  to  have  our  case  understood.  If  we  get  back 
to  the  old  impatient  spirit  which  threw  every  man  and  child  con- 
victed of  a  felony  into  the  penitentiary  our  step  backward  will  be 
much  longer  than  the  step  has  been  forward.  To  that  end  and 
for  that  reason  I  hope  that  you  will  prepare  yourselves  as  you 
go  about  your  work  with  such  helpful  incidents  as  may  evoke 
popular  approval,  and  as  opportunity  offers  you  will  address 
various  organizations  upon  the  subject  of  the  juvenile  court  work. 
I  say  this  is  essential.  I  am  not  speaking  of  political  popularity 
or  anything  of  that  sort,  but  the  public  must  have  patience  with 
these  boys.  If  the  boys  steal  a  second  or  a  third  time  we  want 
them  to  be  still  willing  to  struggle  for  the  betterment  of  the 
children.  I  think  I  have  covered  in  a  general  way  the  scope 
of  the  work. 

ADULT  CONTRIBUTORY  LAW. 

The  Court — I  expect  during  the  early  stages  of  the  work, 
under  the  new  law,  to  assist  you  more  than  I  will  later,  because 
the  work  will  be  new.  You  are  fortunate  in  having  assigned  to 
assist  in  the  work  Mr.  Keetch  of  the  District  Attorney's  office. 
I  have  not  said  a  word  about  the  adult  contributory  law.  I  have 
not  myself  made  a  study  of  it.  It  is  copied  from  the  Colorado 
law.  I  am  very  anxious  that  the  first  cases  under  that  provision 
shall  be  tried  in  court  and  prosecuted  by  an  attorney.  It  will 
probably  involve  a  jury  trial,  and  while  I  won't  predict  what  I 
may  do  in  advance,  it  may  be  that  some  of  these  people  will  see 
a  new  light  before  very  long. 

SECOND  OFFENSES.* 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  may  be  the  best  policy  in  deal- 
ing with  a  boy  or  girl  who  has  committed  a  second  felony,  such 
as  burglary  or  robbery,  both  because  of  the  psychological  effect 
on  the  child  and  because  it  will  put  beyond  all  question  the 

*The  final  outline  of  this  head  has  never  been  followed. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  65 


jurisdiction  to  have  the  matter  called  to  my  attention  as  a  second 
offense,  to  have  it  sent  back  to  some  justice  court  and  a  complaint 
filed  in  the  orderly  way  and  the  matter  brought  up  to  judgment; 
and  the  child  be  then  dealt  with  under  the  Juvenile  Court  Law, 
which  can  be  done  by  placing  them  on  probation,  under  the  law. 
I  think  it  will  have  a  very  good  effect  on  some  of  those  offenders 
to  feel  that  there  is  something  different  being  done,  that  is  not 
quite  the  same  as  it  was;  that  they  are  in  a  little  different  atti- 
tude toward  the  court  than  a  first  offender.  I  am  speaking  now 
of  this  as  a  general  policy.  Of  course  a  case  comes  to  me  in  the 
first  place,  anyway,  but  I  will  determine  each  case  as  it  arises. 

CO-OPERATION  WITH  PEACE  OFFICERS. 

In  these  investigations  of  amusement  places,  indeed  almost 
any  part  of  the  work,  I  think  you  will  be  able  to  get,  not  only  in 
Los  Angeles,  but  throughout  the  county,  the  hearty  co-operation 
of  peace  officers.  Of  course  where  arrests  are  made  by  you  there 
will  be  no  fees  charged.  If  they  are  made  by  policemen  there  will 
be  no  fees.  If  they  are  made  by  a  constable  in  the  country  there 
will  be  fees.  As  far  as  I  am  concerned,  while  I  believe  that  the 
juvenile  court  plan  will  be  a  great  saving,  I  have  never  adopted 
the  theory  that  it  was  the  purpose  of  the  law  to  prevent  officers 
from  getting  their  legal  fees  for  doing  their  work  properly,  and 
you  will  probably  find  that  where  you  can  get  the  co-operation  of 
constables  in  the  country  in  getting  at  certain  lines  of  work 
and  making  arrests,  it  is  a  good  plan  to  do  so ;  not  only  because 
you  will  not  have  time  to  do  it  all  yourself,  but  because  it  inter- 
ests them  in  the  work.  They  will  get  their  pay  for  it  in  the 
usual  way. 

I  think,  if  I  can  in  this  confidential  way  speak  of  Judge  Lind- 
sey's  work,  one  of  the  mistakes  he  made,  and  it  may  have  been 
essential  to  the  work  as  he  originated  it  there,  was  in  antagoniz- 
ing all  the  peace  officers.  He  did  it  deliberately  and  purposely, 
and  spoke  of  it  here ;  ridiculed  the  police,  and  very  effectively, 
too ;  but  he  expressed  to  me  after  three  or  four  years  the  opinion 
that  perhaps  he  had  made  a  mistake  there,  and  I  thought  at  the 
time  it  was  a  mistake.  These  men  are  charged  with  the  same 
duty  you  are,  and  if  presented  to  them  aright  they  will  fulfill  it. 
Xo  man  can  afford  to  fail  in  his  duty  towards  children  where  it 
is  liable  to  be  called  to  the  attention  of  the  public. 

OUTLOOK. 

A  word  in  regard  to  the  outlook  of  the  work,  in  addition  to 
what  has  been  said.  The  opportunities  for  dealing  with  these 
questions  are  almost  unlimited  when  we  reflect  that  in  some 


66  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

jurisdictions  over  sixty  per  cent  of  the  criminals  are  under 
twenty-one  years  of  age;  that  we  deal  with  practically  all  that 
class  under  this  law  up  to  twenty;*  and  that  a  large  proportion 
of  the  inmates  of  houses  of  prostitution  are  girls  that  come  under 
this  law  because  of  their  being  under  eighteen  years  of  age.  So 
you  see  that  we  have  a  gigantic  problem,  yet  it  is  a  problem  which 
we  can  tackle  very  hopefully. 

This  will  be  transcribed  and  copies  of  it  handed  to  you  for 
your  information  and  consideration. 


Instructions  to  Probation  Committee  Concern- 
ing the  Nomination  and  Appointment  of 
Probation  Officers  given  in  April,  191 1 

To  the  Members  of  the   Los  Angeles  County   Probation   Com- 
mittee : 

On  April  5th,  the  Governor  of  the  State  of  California  signed 
a  bill  amending  the  Juvenile  Court  Law.  This  law  provides  for 
the  appointment  of  thirteen  new  probation  officers  in  addition  to 
the  seven  already  appointed  in  this  county.  Said  appointments 
are  to  be  made  by  the  Judge  of  the  Juvenile  Court  upon  the 
recommendation  of  the  probation  committee  in  such  manner  as 
he  may  direct.  In  accordance  with  that  provision  of  the  law,  it 
is  my  duty  to  indicate  to  you  the  general  principles  which  should 
control  you  in  making  your  recommendations  for  probation  offi- 
cers. In  making  your  recommendations,  1  desire  you  to  be  gov- 
erned by  the  following  considerations  and  that  you  shall  proceed 
in  the  manner  herein  indicated. 

NON-PARTISANSHIP. 

Independent  of  the  general  movement  toward  civil  service  in 
all  departments  of  the  government,  it  has  been  from  the  first  con- 
sidered of  the  utmost  importance  that  probation  officers  should 
be  appointed  solely  with  reference  to  merit.  This,  not  only  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  the  best  material  should  be  secured  for 
probation  officers  without  regard  to  political  consideration,  but 
also  because  of  the  fact  that,  so  far  as  possible,  the  term  of  the 
probation  officer  should  be  continued  as  long  as  possible  so  that 
the  public  would  get  the  advantage  of  the  increased  knowledge 
and  experience  of  probation  officers.  It  is  peculiarly  important 
that  probation  officers  should  be  independent  in  disposition  and 

*Xo\v  twenty-one. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  67 

independent  of  political  influences,  for  the  reason  that  they  essen- 
tially represent  the  interests  of  the  defendant  child  or  man  in 
criminal  cases.  This  attitude  may  bring  them  into  hostility  with 
prosecuting  attorneys,  police  officers  and  peace  officers.  It  is 
even  more  essential  that  a  probation  officer  should  be  independ- 
ent of  political  influences  than  for  a  school  teacher,  for  the  proba- 
tion officer  during  his  term  of  office  is  constantly  dealing  with 
questions  involved  in  the  active  exercise  of  political  and  govern- 
mental functions. 

HISTORY  OF  NON-PARTISANSHIP  IN  JUVENILE  COURT. 

The  first  Juvenile  Court  Laws  enacted  throughout  the  coun- 
try, and  the  first  one  in  this  State,  provided  for  probation  officers 
without  compensation.  The  purpose  of  those  who  advocated 
the  passage  of  this  law  was  to  require  the  salary  of  the  probation 
officer  to  be  raised  by  popular  subscription  and  thus  prevent  the 
office  falling  into  the  hands  of  politicians.  Experience  has  ap- 
parently demonstrated  that  it  is  safe  to  make  provision  for  the 
payment  of  such  officers  from  the  public  treasury,  but  the  neces- 
sity of  non-partisanship  and  independence  from  political  in- 
fluences is  even  greater  than  when  the  law  was  first  enacted,  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  by  subsequent  legislation  probation  officers 
are  required  to  make  reports  in  the  case  of  adults  applying  for 
probation  and  to  exercise  the  power  of  a  probation  officer  over 
such  adults.  It  is  my  desire,  therefore,  that  political  influences 
and  consideration,  or  party  affiliations,  should  not  be  considered 
by  your  committee  in  making  its  recommendations. 

SUPERVISING   POWER   OF  PROBATION   OFFICER. 

The  Juvenile  Court  Law  [Sec.  20]  provides  that  children  un- 
der the  jurisdiction  of  the  court  may  be  placed  out  "to  board  in 
some  suitable  family  home  in  case  provision  is  made  by  voluntary 
contribution  or  otherwise  for  the  payment  of  the  board  of  said 
person  until  suitable  provision  may  be  made  for  said  person  in 
a  home  without  such  payment ;  or  the  court  may  commit  said 
person  for  such  time  before  such  person  arrives  at  the  age  ef 
twenty-one  years  as  to  the  court  may  seem  fit,  to  the  care  and 
custody  of  some  association,  society  or  corporation  that  will  re- 
ceive it,  embracing  within  its  object  the  care  of  dependent  or  de- 
linquent children.  The  court  may  thereafter  set  aside, 
change  or  modify  said  order  and  provide  for  the  further  deten- 
tion in  said  place."  It  will  be  observed  that  the  duties  of  the  pro- 
bation officer  not  only  relate  to  the  report  upon  and  presentation 
ot  the  case  of  the  child  at  the  time  of  the  hearing  of  his  case,  but 
the  general  supervision  of  the  child  no  matter  where  placed  ex- 


68  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


cept  only  in  the  case  of  a  State  [or  other]*  institution  after  the 
determination  of  the  fact  of  dependency  or  delinquency.  That 
after  such  determination  the  probation  officer  has  the  power  and 
it  is  his  duty  where  necessary  to  return  said  child  to  court  for 
further  order  or  disposition. 

CO-OPERATION   OF  PARENT  AND   COURT. 

In  connection  with  the  duties  of  a  probation  officer  and  the 
power  and  attitude  of  the  Juvenile  Court,  it  is  important  to  recog- 
nize the  fact  that  while  the  Juvenile  Court  deals  constantly  with 
children  who  have  been  guilty  of  crime,  it  is  in  no  sense  a  crimi- 
nal court.  There  is  no  provision  for  a  jury  trial.  And  no  matter 
what  crime  the  person  may  be  accused  of  in  the  Juvenile  Court 
as  a  basis  for  an  adjudication  of  delinquency  the  child  cannot  be 
taken  from  the  home  of  the  parent  without  the  consent  of  that 
parent. 

THE  DUTIES  OF  A  PROBATION  OFFICER. 

So  far  as  defined  by  the  Juvenile  Court  Law  the  duties  of 
probation  officers  relate  to  dependent  and  delinquent  children 
and  persons  under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years.  The  law  provides ; 

"Section  13.  *  *  *  all  of  such  officers  shall 
devote  their  entire  time  and  attention  to  the  duties  of 
their  offices,  and  no  such  probation  officer  or  assistant 
probation  officer,  while  holding  such  office  and  receiv- 
ing salary  therefor,  shall  be  a  candidate  or  seek  the 
nomination  for  any  other  public  office  or  employment, 
and  no  person  shall  be  appointed  to  and  receive  the 
salary  attached  to  such  office  of  either  probation  offi- 
cer or  assistant  probation  officer  who  is  related  to  the 
Judge  of  the  Juvenile  Court  or  to  a  member  of  the  pro- 
bation committee  of  such  county,  or  city  and  county, 
by  consanguinity  or  affinity,  within  the  third  degree 
computed  according  to  the  rules  of  law.  Such  proba- 
tion officer  and  assistant  probation  officers  may  at  any 


*Xote: — Xo  dependent  or  delinquent  person  as  defined  in  this  act 
shall  be  taken  from  the  custody  of  his  parent  or  legal  guardian,  without 
the  consent  of  such  parent  or  guardian,  unless  the  court  shall  find  such 
parent  or  guardian  to  he  incapable,  or  has  failed  or  neglected  to  provide 
proper  maintenance,  training  and  education  for  said  person;  or  unless 
said  person  has  been  tried  on  probation  in  said  custody,  and  has  failed 
to  reform,  or  unless  the  court  shall  find  that  the  welfare  of  said  person 
requires  his  custody  shall  be  taken  from  said  parent  or  guardian. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  69 

time  be  removed  by  the  Judge  of  the  Juvenile  Court  in 
his  discretion." 

"Section  15.  The  probation  officer  shall  inquire 
into  the  antecedents,  character,  family  history,  en- 
vironment and  cause  of  dependency  or  delinquency  of 
every  alleged  dependent  or  delinquent  person,  brought 
before  the  Juvenile  Court,  and  shall  make  his  report  in 
writing  to  the  Judge  thereof;  *  * 

"It  shall  be  the  duty  of  said  probation  officer  * 
*  *  to  be  present  in  court  in  order  to  represent  the 
interests  of  the  dependent  or  delinquent  person  when 
the  case  is  heard  and  to  furnish  to  the  court  such  in- 
formation and  assistance  as  it  may  require  and  to  make 
such  report  at  such  times;  and  to  take  charge  of  said 
dependent  or  delinquent  person  before  and  after  the 
hearing  as  may  be  ordered.  Every  probation  officer, 
assistant  probation  officer  and  deputy  probation  offi- 
cer shall  have  the  power  of  a  peace  officer.  At  any 
time,  in  his  discretion,  such  officer  may  bring  any  de- 
pendent or  delinquent  person  committed  to  his  care 
before  the  court  for  such  further  or  other  action  as 
the  court  may  deem  proper. 

"Every  probation  officer  shall  have  the  powers  of 
a  school  attendance  officer,  in  such  portions  of  the 
county,  in  which  such  probation  officer  has  been  ap- 
pointed, as  otherwise  provided  with  a  school  attend- 
ance officer,  and  shall  exercise  such  power  when  not 
inconsistent  with  his  other  duties. 

"Any  of  the  duties  of  a  probation  officer  may  be 
performed  by  an  assistant  or  deputy  probation  officer, 
and  shall  be  so  performed  whenever  directed  by  the 
probation  officer ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  pro- 
bation officer  to  see  that  his  assistants  and  deputy  pro- 
bation officers  perform  their  duties. 

"No  dependent  or  delinquent  person  as  defined 
in  this  Act  shall  be  taken  from  the  custody  of  his  par- 
ent or  legal  guardian,  without  the  consent  of  said  par- 
ent or  guardian,  unless  the  court  shall  find  such 
parent  or  guardian  is  incapable,  or  has  failed  or 
neglected  to  provide  proper  maintenance,  training  and 
education  for  said  person ;  or  unless  said  person  has 
been  tried  on  probation  in  said  custody  and  has  failed 
to  reform,  or  unless  the  court  shall  find  that  the  wel- 


70  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

fare  of  said  person  requires  his  custody  shall  be  taken 
from  said  parent  or  guardian." 

This  is  in  accordance  with  the  declaration  of  constitutional 
law  contained  in  the  case  of  Ex  Parte  Kicknell,  119  Cal.  496,  for 
in  it  was  said,  with  reference  to  a  commitment  to  Whittier  in 
accordance  with  the  terms  of  the  statute  creating  that  institution 
as  a  judgment  of  imprisonment,  the  order  of  the  Superior  Court 
is  void. 

"The  hoy  cannot  he  imprisoned  as  a  criminal  with- 
out a  trial  by  jury.  As  an  award  of  guardianship  it  is 
equally  void,  for  his  parents — his  natural  guardian — 
cannot  be  deprived  of  their  right  to  his  care,  custody, 
society  and  services  except  ny  a  proceeding  to  which 
they  are  made  parties,  and  in  which  it  is  shown  that 
they  are  unfit  or  unwilling  or  unable  to  perform  their 
parental  duties.  In  case  it  seems  to  the  court  neces- 
sary to  deprive  a  fit  and  proper  parent  of  the  custody 
of  his  child  and  that  parent  refuses  to  consent  to 
such  order  of  the  court,  it  becomes  necessary  to  send 
such  child  before  the  criminal  court  to  be  tried  in  the 
manner  provided  by  law  for  the  trial  of  persons 
charged  with  crime." 

It  is  worthy  of  note  in  this  connection  that  in  the  last  two 
years  it  has  only  once  been  necessary  to  make  such  an  order. 

ADULT  PROBATION. 

In  addition  to  the  work  of  the  probation  officers  as  defined 
by  the  Juvenile  Court  Law,  they  are  also  made  ex-officio  the  pro- 
bation officers  for  the  criminal  courts:  and  men  placed  on  pro- 
bation from  the  Superior  Court  or  from  any  justice  court  in 
the  county  should  be  placed  under  the  care  and  supervision  of 
such  probation  officers,  and  said  probation  officers  may  be  re- 
quired in  advance  to  make  reports  upon  the  case  of  such  an 
adult. 

This  branch  of  probation  work  has  been  very  efficiently  ad- 
ministered in  connection  with  the  Superior  Courts,  but  so  far 
very  little  has  been  done  in  connection  with  the  justices  of  the 
peace  and  police  courts. 

POLICE  COURTS. 

I  am  particularly  anxious  that  the  committee  should  arrange 
as  soon  as  possible  to  co-operate  with  the  police  courts  of  this  city. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


There  has  been  some  agitation  in  favor  of  a  police  defender  to 
represent  defendants  in  the  police  courts  and  also  for  a  chap- 
lain in  connection  with  the  work  of  the  police  courts.  I  am 
satisfied  that  most  of  the  functions  that  either  of  these  officials 
might  exercise  may  properly  fall  to  the  lot  of  the  probation  offi- 
cer. In  this  I  am  not  intending  in  any  way  to  refer  to  what  may 
be  called  strictly  religious  work.  But  merely  to  the  work  of  ad- 
vice, counsel,  supervision  and  co-operation.  I  may  not  be  cor- 
rect in  my  opinion,  but  I  have  long  been  satisfied  that  the  method 
of  punishment  of  petty  offenders  by  short  jail  sentences  of  from 
two  to  five  days  is  utterly  inadequate  to  meet  the  situation. 
While  the  system  of  suspending  sentence  and  ordering  de- 
fendants to  leave  the  city  is  clearly  improper  and  tends  to  make 
vagrants  of  men  who  perhaps  might  otherwise  be  redeemed. 
It  is  true  that  appellate  courts  have  in  one  sense  sustained  a 
suspended  sentence  or  "floater"  by  holding  that  a  man  may  be 
rearrested  and  given  the  full  term  at  a  later  time,  treating  the 
period  during  which  he  has  been  at  liberty  as  an  escape.  It 
would  seem  much  better  to  have  the  officers  of  the  law  conform 
to  the  law  and  deal  with  the  situation  by  placing  such  men  on 
probation,  with  the  instructions,  if  need  be,  to  the  probation 
officer  to  assist  such  parties  in  reaching  some  definite  and  de- 
termined place,  otherwise  to  retain  them  under  supervision  and 
probation.  I  trust  that  some  plan  may  be  worked  out  by  which 
probation  in  police  courts  in  this  city  and  in  other  cities  in  the 
county  may  be  made  an  adjunct  to  the  efficient  enforcement  of 
law  and  the  reformation  of  petty  offenders. 

QUALIFICATIONS  OF  A  PROBATION  OFFICER. 

The  foregoing  outline  of  duties  of  the  probation  officer  in- 
dicate in  a  general  way  the  characteristics  and  the  ability  which 
a  probation  officer  should  have.  They  should  be  kind,  con- 
siderate, conciliatory  and,  above  all,  should  not  be  harsh,  arbi- 
trary, domineering  or  dictatorial.  They  should  be  firm  in  seeing 
that  their  orders  are  carried  out  and  particularly  that  the  spirit 
of  such  orders  should  be  given  full  effect,  at  the  same  time  avoid- 
ing the  harsh,  arbitrary  and  dictatorial  methods  essential  in  a 
military  establishment.  They  should  be  soft-hearted  without 
being  soft-headed  ;  they  should  above  all  things  be  patient,  en- 
couraging honest  efforts  towards  better  conduct  even  though 
the  result  may  not  be  equal  to  the  effort;  they  should  understand 
the  main  purpose  of  the  Juvenile  Court  Law  is  to  duplicate,  so 
far  as  possible,  in  all  cases,  good  home  conditions  for  the  child. 
They  should  understand  the  critical  periods  in  childhood,  and  the 


72  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

extent  to  which  psychological  and  physiological  conditions  enter 
into  the  work  of  reformation.  They  should  realize  the  utmost 
importance  of  establishing  and  maintaining  friendly  relations 
with  parents  and  relatives  to  the  end  that  all  may  co-operate 
for  the  welfare  of  the  child.  They  should  realize  that  truthful- 
ness is  one  of  the  first  elements  necessary  to  reformation;  that 
decision  for  right,  confession,  repentance  and  restitution  are  the 
corner-stones  upon  which  character  must  be  built.  That  right 
impulse  must  be  encouraged,  wrong  impulses  checked ;  right 
standards  held  up  to  the  child,  and  wrong  standards  condemned  ; 
that  the  probation  officer  must  always  exert  a  strong  pressure 
towards  right  doing,  using  suggestion,  persuasion,  encourage- 
ment, praise,  condemnation,  reward,  and,  in  the  background, 
punishment,  as  means  to  the  end  sought.  The  child  must  be 
instructed,  so  far  as  it  is  possible  to  instruct,  to  fear  to  do  wrong, 
not  because  of  anticipated  punishment,  but  because  the  act  itself 
is  wrong.  The  officer  should  realize  that  so  far  as  possible  the 
problem  should  be  worked  out  in  the  home,  with  the  co-opera- 
tion of  relatives  and  friends,  of  school  teachers  and  others  in- 
terested in  child  welfare.  That  one  of  the  primary  objects  of  the 
Juvenile  Court  Law  is  to  avoid,  so  far  as  can  be,  the  expense 
attendant  upon  keeping  children  in  public  institutions  and  re- 
form schools  for  long  periods  of  time,  and  that  parents  and  rela- 
tives should  be  required  and  encouraged  to  contribute  to  the 
maintenance  of  the  children  whether  in  their  own  home  or  in 
some  institution  selected  for  them.  It  should  not  be  overlooked 
that  one  of  the  main  purposes  in  the  increase  of  the  number  of 
probation  officers  is  to  enable  the  more  difficult  cases  to  be 
closely  followed  up.  It  is  exceedingly  important,  especially  in 
the  difficult  cases,  that  there  should  be  close  supervision  for  the 
first  few  weeks,  until  the  boy  or  girl  is  suitably  placed  and  fairly 
established  in  the  situation  in  which  they  may  be  expected  to 
do  right. 

RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION. 

The  duties  of  the  probation  officer  are  essentially  those  of 
civil  officers,  and  they  should  be  performed  in  the  same  non-sec- 
tarian and  non-denominational  manner  to  which  we  have  become 
so  accustomed  in  the  public  schools.  However,  the  religious 
element  is  a  strong  factor,  to  say  the  least,  in  the  upbuilding 
of  character.  That  character  is  most  secure  which  is  founded 
upon  the  belief  in  the  responsibility  to  God  for  human  conduct. 
Religious  considerations  are  therefore  not  to  be  overlooked  in 
the  placing  of  a  child.  The  law  directs  that,  "In  all  cases  where 
it  can  be  properly  done  the  dependent  or  delinquent  person  as 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  73 

defined  in  this  act  shall  be  placed  in  an  approved  family  with 
people  of  the  same  religious  belief  and  become  a  member  of  the 
family  by  legal  adoption  or  otherwise."  It  follows,  therefore, 
that  the  wishes  of  the  parent  and  of  the  child  should  be  consulted 
on  this  subject  when  considering  the  family,  or  an  institution 
as  well,  in  Which  it  is  contemplated  placing  said  child.  All  tem- 
porary dispositions,  as  well  as  permanent,  should  be  based  upon 
this  consideration,  and  parents  should  be  encouraged  to  place 
their  children  under  those  religious  instructors  most  acceptable 
to  their  religious  belief. 

METHOD  OF  APPOINTMENT. 

It  is  important  that  those  probation  officers  dealing  with 
children  should  be  acquainted  with  all  the  child  saving  agencies 
in  the  State  and  particularly  those  in  the  county  of  Los  Angeles ; 
that  they  should  know  the  character  of  work  done  by  the  various 
institutions,  to  the  end  that  they  may  be  competent  to  suggest 
the  disposition  to  be  made  of  the  child  under  the  order  of  the 
court.  The  probation  committee,  in  making  its  appointments, 
should  above  all  things  satisfy  themselves  that  the  man  or  wo- 
man appointed  can  be  a  worthy  ideal  and  a  consistent  example 
for  the  children  under  his  supervision.  I  have  assured  all  appli- 
cants for  situations  that  they  shall  be  heard  by  the  committee, 
and  I  would  suggest  that  some  blank  form  requiring  answer  as  to 
such  qualification  as  the  committee  deems  best  should  be  pre- 
pared and  furnished  to  all  applicants,  and  that  then  such  per- 
sonal hearing  should  be  given  by  the  committee  as  seems  to  them 
best  adapted  for  the  selection  of  the  most  meritorious  appli- 
cants. 

OUT  OF  POLITICS. 

Probation  officers  should  be  informed  that  they  will  be  ex- 
pected to  refrain  absolutely  from  any  participation  in  partisan 
politics.  They  will  not  interfere  for  or  against  the  Judge  of  the 
Juvenile  Court  or  any  other  Judge  of  the  Superior  Court  or  any 
other  officer  either  judicial  or  executive,  and  any  such  inter- 
ference will  be  regarded  as  sufficient  reason  to  revoke  the  ap- 
pointment of  any  probation  officer.  The  probation  officers  should 
so  conduct  themselves  and  so  merit  the  continued  approval  of 
those  in  authority  over  them  that  they  will  be  retained  in  their 
position  regardless  of  changes  in  the  personnel  of  the  probation 
committee  and  regardless  of  the  person  who  may  be  selected 
to  act  as  Judge  of  the  Juvenile  Court.  This  does  not,  however, 
mean  that  the  probation  officer  should  be  disloyal  to  the  law,  the 
Juvenile  Court  or  the  Juvenile  Court  Judge.  In  dealing  with 


74  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

children  and  with  parents  it  is  important  that  they  should  have 
respect  and  regard  not  only  for  the  law  of  the  land,  but  for  those 
who  may  be  charged  with  its  enforcement.  Any  attempt,  there- 
fore, to  undermine  the  authority  of  the  probation  officer  of  the 
court,  or  of  the  Judge  of  the  Juvenile  Court,  or  to  cast  discredit 
upon  the  law  or  its  administration,  is  unworthy  of  an  officer  of 
the  court,  dangerous  in  its  effect,  and  if  established  to  the  satis- 
faction of  the  Judge  or  probation  committee,  should  lead  to  in- 
stant dismissal.  Criticism  of  judge  or  court  or  officials  or  law  is 
a  poor  foundation  upon  which  to  build  the  structure  of  reformed 
juvenile  character.  In  this  connection  it  is  important  also  that 
the  hands  of  all  officials  dealing  with  children  should  be  strength- 
ened by  the  probation  officers.  Respect  for  teachers  and  for 
parents  should  be  taught  and  should  never  be  weakened  except 
in  the  most  extraordinary  cases. 

Dated  this  18th  day  of  April,  1911. 

CURTIS  D.  WILBUR, 

Judge  of  the   Superior  Court,  acting  as  Judge  of  the  Juvenile 
Court. 


HUGH  C.  GIBSON 

Chief  Probation  Officer.  Los  Angles  County. 
Qualified  March  4,  1912 


Instructions  of  April,  1912,  Supersed- 
ing Preceding  Instructions,  so  Far 
as  They  Conflict  Therewith 

DUTIES    OF    PROBATION    OFFICERS    WITH    RELATION    TO 
CHILDREN  IN  CUSTODY  IN  INSTITUTIONS 

Section  15  of  the  Juvenile  Court  Law  [Statutes  1911,  page 
666]  provides  as  follows :  "Provided,  however,  that  only  when 
the  judge  so  specially  orders  shall  he  make  such  inquiry  or 
report  in  the  case  of  a  dependent  or  delinquent  person  who  has 
already  been  placed  by  the  Juvenile  Court  in  charge  of  a  society, 
association  or  corporation  which  embraces  within  its  object  the 
care  of  dependent  or  delinquent  children,  and  which  has  in  the 
last  report  thereof  by  the  probation  committee  of  such  county 
been  favorably  passed  upon.  In  the  event  that  such  association 
or  corporation  shall  be  so  in  charge  it  shall,  through  its  agents 
or  superintendent,  make  such  report  to  the  Judge  of  the  Juvenile 
Court  in  place  of  the  probation  officer.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of 
said  probation  officer,  agent  or  superintendent  of  such  society, 
association  or  corporation  to  be  present  in  court  in  order  to 
represent  the  interests  of  the  dependent  or  delinquent  person 
when  the  case  is  heard,  and  to  furnish  to  the  court  such  in- 
formation and  assistance  as  it  may  require  and  to  make  such 
report  at  such  time ;  and  to  take  charge  of  said  dependent  person 
before  and  after  the  hearing  as  may  be  ordered. 

Section  8  of  said  law,  defining  the  duties  of  the  probation 
committee,  contains  the  following:  "It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
probation  committee  to  exercise  a  friendly  supervision  and  visi- 
tation over  the  dependent  or  delinquent  person  in  accordance 
with  the  direction  of  the  court,  to  furnish  the  court  information 
and  assistance  whenever  required,  and,  from  time  to  time,  to 
advise  and  recommend  to  the  court  any  change  or  modification 
of  the  order  made  in  the  case  of  a  dependent  or  delinquent  person 
as  may  be  for  the  best  interests  of  such  person." 

MODIFICATION  OF  ORDERS. 

Judgments  of  the  juvenile  court  stand  on  the  same  basis  as 
judgments  of  any  court  of  record.  That  is  to  say,  ordinarily 
speaking,  they  are  final  and  conclusive,  and,  if  the  proper  parties 
have  been  served  with  the  notice  required  by  la\v,  binding  upon 
them  and  upon  the  whole  world.  The  effect  of  a  decree  of  the 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


juvenile  court  adjudging  a  child  to  be  either  dependent  or  delin- 
quent is  a  determination  of  the  status  of  that  child.  And  from 
that  time  forward  he  becomes  and  is  a  dependent  or  delinquent 
person  as  denned  in  the  law.  However,  the  court  is  given  power 
by  the  statute  to  modify  or  change  its  orders  at  any  time. 
Section  22  of  the  act  provides:  "Any  order  made  by  the 
court  in  case  of  a  dependent  or  delinquent  person  may  at  any 
time  be  changed,  modified  or  set  aside  as  to  the  judge  may  seem 
meet  and  proper."  Section  15  of  the  statute  provides  in  regard 
to  probation  officers  as  follows :  "At  any  time  in  his  discretion 
such  officer  may  bring  any  dependent  or  delinquent  person 
committed  to  his  care  before  the  court  for  suc4i  further  or  other 
action  as  the  court  may  deem  proper." 

METHOD  OF  BRINGING  A  CHILD  INTO  COURT. 

The  question  as  to  how  a  child  should  be  brought  before 
the  court  is  not  definitely  fixed  by  the  statute.  Ordinarily 
there  should  be  some  process  of  court,  either  a  citation,  or  in 
the  event  the  citation  would  not  be  effective,  a  warrant.  In  the 
absence  of  a  consent  on  the  part  of  the  person  to  come  into  court, 
or  in  the  absence  of  a  direction  of  the  parents  or  consent  to 
bringing  said  child  into  court,  the  better  practice  would  be  to 
file  a  petition  with  the  court  and  secure  a  citation  or  warrant. 
This  of  course  need  not  apply  to  children  already  in  custody, 
or  the  children  arrested  under  the  general  authority  of  probation 
officers  acting  as  peace  officers.  With  reference  to  children  in  an 
institution  under  an  order  of  court,  they  should  never  be  brought 
into  court  by  the  probation  officer  unless  at  the  request  of  a 
person  connected  with  the  institution,  or  upon  a  citation  or  order 
of  court.  This,  of  course,  would  not  apply  to  children  who 
escaped  from  custody,  and  were  therefore  brought  into  court 
for  such  further  or  additional  orders  as  may  be  necessary  in  the 
premises. 

POLICE  CASES. 

Most  of  the  cases  which  come  before  the  juvenile  court  are 
brought  by  the  police  officers  of  the  City  of  Los  Angeles.  The 
police  department  has  established  a  juvenile  bureau.  It  is 
desired  that  the  probation  officers  shall  co-operate  with  the  police 
in  bringing  about  a  speedy  hearing  of  cases.  Petitions  for  the 
police  officers  will  ordinarily  be  drawn  by  the  Deputy  District 
Attorney  attached  to  the  juvenile  court.  The  police  of  Los 
Angeles  city  have  co-operated  in  every  way  with  the  probation 
officers  and  with  the  court,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that  a  large 
proportion  of  the  crime  committed  in  Los  Angeles  is  committed 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  77 

by  those  who  come  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  juvenile  court, 
it  is  important  that  cordial  co-operation  should  exist,  so  far  as 
is  consistent  with  the  relative  duties  of  probation  officers  and 
police  officers. 

OVER  EIGHTEEN. 

In  this  connection  it  should  be  noticed  in  cases  where  the  age 
of  eighteen  has  been  reached  by  either  boys  or  girls,  that,  under 
the  present  Juvenile  Court  Law,  the  complaining  officer  or  indi- 
vidual has  the  option  to  proceed  under  the  criminal  law  or  to 
file  a  petition  in  the  juvenile  court.  This  option  on  the  part  of 
police  officers  makes  it  particularly  important  that  there  should 
be  co-operation,  especially  with  relation  to  these  cases.  Not- 
withstanding that  complaints  or  informations  may  be  filed  in 
the  criminal  court,  these  cases,  in  that  court,  may  be  dealt  with, 
if  desired  by  the  defendant  (and  such  application  is  granted  by 
the  judge),  as  though  they  were  charged  in  the  juvenile  court 
with  dependency  or  delinquency.  That  is  to  say,  they  may  be 
put  on  probation  or  sent  to  the  reform  school  or  otherwise  dealt 
with  as  may  be  done  in  the  juvenile  court.  It  has  been  the  prac- 
tice in  some  of  these  cases,  in  which  the  judges  of  the  criminal 
departments  felt  it  desirable  that  there  should  be  action  along 
the  lines  of  juvenile  court  procedure,  to  transfer  such  cases  to 
Department  8  of  the  Superior  Court  (the  juvenile  court).  They 
are  there  handled  as  Superior  Court  cases,  but  dealt  with  in 
accordance  with  the  Juvenile  Court  Law. 

TRUANCY  CASES. 

Truancy  cases,  under  the  law,  are  to  be  dealt  with  by  the 
probation  officers  in  all  districts  where  there  is  no  truancy 
officer.  In  the  City  of  Los  Angeles  this  matter  is  well  cared  for 
by  the  School  Department,  and  there  are  very  few  truancy  cases 
brought  into  court.  In  some  other  districts  in  Los  Angeles 
County  there  are  truancy  officers,  but  in  most  school  districts 
there  are  not.  In  order  to  handle  this  question  it  will  be  neces- 
sary to  appoint  voluntary  probation  officers  in  these  school  dis- 
tricts, and  where  the  school  boards  or  school  trustees  of  dis- 
tricts will  recommend  the  appointment  of  a  probation  officer 
to  act  as  truancy  officer  for  their  district,  such  appointments 
will  be  confirmed  by  the  probation  committee  and  the  judge, 
where  acceptable  to  them. 

VOLUNTARY  PROBATION  OFFICERS. 

Owing  to  the  size  of  this  great  county  and  its  large  pop- 
ulation, it  will  not  be  possible  to  adequately  cover  all  the  cases 
that  occur  within  its  territory  without  the  active  co-operation  of 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


a  large  number  of  officers  throughout  the  county.  Under  the 
present  law,  when  misdemeanors  arc  committed  by  children, 
the  cases  must  be  tried  before  the  juvenile  court.  Up  to  the  age 
of  eighteen  no  other  court  within  the  county  has  jurisdiction. 
The  result  is  that  there  is  at  present  no  adequate  plan  for  deal- 
ing in  a  practical  way  with  the  children  who  have  violated 
municipal  ordinances  in  the  various  municipalities  within  the 
county.  It  is  a  serious  question  whether  these  cases  ought  to  be 
brought  to  the  Superior  Court,  but  that  question  is  decided  by 
the  law  which  fixes  the  jurisdiction  there.  Undoubtedly  the  pur- 
pose of  the  law  was  to  prevent  the  imprisonment  of  children  for 
minor  offenses  by  justices  or  recorders  who  are  not  in  sympathy 
with  the  general  plan  of  dealing  with  children  now  provided  by 
the  Juvenile  Court  Law. 

In  order  to  meet  the  situation  presented,  practically,  and  to 
avoid  a  large  number  of  witnesses  and  parties  having  to  come 
to  Los  Angeles  from  the  outlying  municipalities  of  the  county, 
it  seems  desirable  that  a  local  voluntary  probation  officer  be 
appointed  in  every  city  and  in  every  township.  Some  justices 
of  the  peace  have  already  accepted  such  appointments  and  will 
probably  deal  with  many  cases  on  the  voluntary  probation  plan. 
It  is  desirable,  as  soon  as  it  can  be  arangcd,  that  such  voluntary 
probation  officers  be  appointed  throughout  the  county. 

VOLUNTARY  PROBATION. 

The  law  recognizes  no  such  thing  as  voluntary  probation. 
It  is  a  phrase  coined  to  describe  the  situation  where  a  boy  or 
girl  or  the  parents  of  the  child  desire  the  supervisory  admin- 
istrations of  the  probation  officer.  The  parents  of  the  child  and 
the  officer  may  all  consent  that  he  be  placed  on  probation.  While 
so  placed  on  probation  he  reports  in  exactly  the  same  manner 
as  though  there  was  an  order  of  court  requiring  him  to  do  so. 
l»ut  as  the  whole  proceedings  are  purely  voluntary,  the  probation 
may  be  terminated  at  any  time  at  the  option  of  any  of  those 
interested  therein.  The  only  thing  that  would  tend  in  any 
degree  to  make  voluntary  probation  really  compulsory  is  the 
tact  that  where  offenses  have  been  committed,  and  where  child- 
ren are  really  dependent  or  delinquent,  they  know  that  the  law 
provides  that  they  can  be  brought  before  the  court,  and  that  if 
brought  before  the  court  they  may  be  placed  on  probation,  and 
may  choose,  therefore,  to  do  that  voluntarily  which  they  might 
by  proper  legal  process  be  compelled  to  do.  This  plan  of  vol- 
untary probation  has  been  carried  out  in  almost  every  juvenile 
court  in  the  country  and  by  our  own  probation  office.  Experi- 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


ence  apparently  has  demonstrated  that  it  is  not  desirable  in  more 
serious  cases  to  have  the  child  held  by  so  loose  a  tie,  particularly 
in  view  of  the  number  of  runaways.  But  this  system  of  vol- 
untary probation  would  undoubtedly  meet  the  present  unsatis- 
factory conditions  outside  of  Los  Angeles  city,  and  particularly 
in  the  cases  of  comparatively  trifling  importance. 

ATTORNEYS. 

There  is  a  current  belief,  encouraged  by  some  juvenile  court 
judges  in  some  other  jurisdictions,  that  it  is  not  desirable  to  have 
attorneys  appear  in  the  juvenile  court.  On  the  contrary,  it  is 
very  desirable  that  attorneys  of  good  character  and  of  profes- 
sional skill  should  apear  in  such  cases.  And  their  presence  is 
always  welcomed  by  the  court,  not  only  because  they  have  a 
right  to  be  present,  but  because  of  the  actual  assistance  that  they 
render  to  the  court.  Nevertheless  it  is  a  matter  of  some  con- 
gratulation, perhaps,  that  the  juvenile  court  plan  as  operated  in 
this  county  gives  an  opportunity  to  a  person  to  have  questions 
concerning  the  welfare  of  children  and  their  custody  determined 
without  the  expense  of  employing  an  attorney.  Even  in  habeas 
corpus  cases,  which  the  law  has  always  provided  should  be 
tried  without  fees,  so  far  as  the  court  and  clerk's  fees  are  con- 
cerned, the  expense  of  employing  an  attorney  often  deters 
people  from  rescuing  children  who  have  been  taken  from  them 
illegally.  In  some  instances  this  has  led  to  oppression  of  the 
poor  by  societies  or  persons  assuming  authority  over  them  but 
without  any  real  authority  in  law.  Petitions  in  the  juvenile  court 
are  prepared  by  the  probation  officer  or  the  district  attorney, 
and  no  charge  is  made  therefor.  No  court  fees  or  clerk's  fees 
are  collected  in  juvenile  court  cases  from  the  persons  before  the 
court.  Applications  for  modifications  of  orders  theretofore 
made  are  received  in  the  most  informal  way,  but  hereafter  they 
must  be  in  writing  as  elsewhere  herein  stated.  This  opportunity, 
afforded  by  the  juvenile  court  plan  to  every  parent  or  person 
interested  in  a  child,  to  have  the  question  of  its  custody  deter- 
mined in  court  without  expense,  is  a  tremendous  advantage. 
Fifty  dollars  is  not  an  unreasonable  fee  for  an  attorney  for  a 
single  appearance  in  the  Superior  Court.  There  have  been  ap- 
proximately 13,000  hearings  in  the  juvenile  court,  and  if  we 
estimate  that  there  are  two  attorneys  in  each  case,  the  expendi- 
ture for  employing  such  attorneys  would  be  $1,300,000.  Our 
procedure  is  so  framed  that,  in  most  matters,  while  each  person 
has  a  legal  right  to  represent  himself  in  court,  no  one  would 
adventure  so  to  do.  The  adage  goes  "that  the  man  who  takes 


80  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

his  own  case  has  a  fool  for  a  client."  Many  attorneys  have  ap- 
peared in  the  juvenile  court  and  have  been  of  great  assistance, 
not  only  in  arriving  at  a  just  conclusion  in  the  case  before  the 
court,  but  in  providing  ways  and  means  for  caring  for  the  chil- 
dren involved  in  the  cases  which  they  have  represented.  Many 
attorneys,  of  course,  have  appeared  without  compensation  or  for 
very  small  compensation.  They  are  necessary  officers  of  the 
court.  It  is  is  not  to  be  expected  therefore  that  the  plan  of 
handling  juvenile  court  cases  in  the  absence  of  attorneys  would 
be  without  its  disadvantages.  The  practice  has  many  disad- 
vantages. It  throws  upon  the  judge  burdens  not  intended  to 
be  borne  by  a  judge.  The  burden  of  asking  questions  of  the  wit- 
nesses, and  of  determining  what  questions  he  shall  ask.  Ordi- 
narily the  duty  of  the  judge  in  this  respect  consists  in  ruling 
upon  the  propriety  of  questions  propounded  by  attorneys.  If 
an  attorney  in  a  case  asks  a  question  seemingly  improper  or 
immaterial  and  the  objection  is  urged  that  the  question  is  im- 
material, attorneys  may  discuss  the  relevancy  or  materiality  of 
the  evidence  and  the  judge  after  such  instruction  and  enlight- 
enment rules  upon  the  admissibility  of  the  testimony.  This 
burden  upon  the  judge  in  those  cases  where  improper  conduct 
is  involved  is  doubly  great,  for  here  in  order  to  arrive  at  the 
truth  and  fulfill  the  measure  of  legal  proof,  it  may  be  necessary 
to  ask  questions  so  direct  and  pointed,  so  suggestive  of  \vrong 
doing  on  the  part  of  the  person  questioned  as  to  evoke  criticism. 
Rut  with  this  small  loss  there  is  a  great  gain  that  no  unnecessary 
question  need  be  asked.  An  attorney  can  never  know  what  is 
revolving  in  the  mind  of  the  judge,  or  in  which  \vay  his  opinion 
is  inclining.  He  must  produce  all  the  proof,  dig  to  the  greatest 
depth  in  presenting  his  facts  in  order  that  he  may  win  the  judge 
to  the  conclusion  he  seeks.  On  the  other  hand,  the  judge  has  the 
advantage  of  knowing  his  own  mind,  and  what  the  law  requires 
and  when  the  legal  measure  of  proof  is  full.  This  means  that 
not  only  many  embarrassing  questions  may  be  left  unasked  and 
unanswered  in  those  delicate  cases  involving  girls,  rape,  seduc- 
tion, lewd  acts,  etc.,  but  that  business  can  be  quickly  dispatched, 
for  when  the  measure  is  full  the  case  can  be  determined  and  an- 
other taken  up.  Thus  a  case  which  might  take  days  where  attor- 
neys arc  employed  can  be  disposed  of  in  a  relatively  short  time, 
by  the  judge,  not  because  the  attorneys  are  dilatory  but  because 
of  the  fact  that  they  are  bound  to  do  everything  that  can  be  done 
to  establish  the  side  ot  the  case  that  they  espouse  and  also  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  they  cannot  know  nor  anticipate  the  con- 
clusions towards  which  the  court's  mind  is  pointing. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  81 


Attorneys  employed  in  cases  will  be  furnished  every  facility 
by  the  probation  officers  to  ascertain  the  facts  and  will  be  allowed 
to  examine  all  the  reports  of  probation  officers. 

THE  DISTRICT  ATTORNEY. 

The  district  attorney  of  Los  Angeles  county  has  assigned  a 
deputy  from  his  office  to  the  work  of  the  juvenile  court.  This 
deputy  draws  the  petitions  for  filing  in  the  juvenile  court.  He 
presents  the  complaints  to  the  court  in  contributory  cases  against 
adults.  At  the  request  of  the  court  or  probation  officer  he  is  to 
be  present  in  court  and  question  the  witnesses.  This  is  particu- 
larly important  in  those  cases  where  some  advance  examination 
of  the  witnesses  is  essential  to  bringing  out  the  truth.  His  pres- 
ence is  essential  in  those  contested  cases  where  the  side  lights 
growing  out  of  conflicting  declarations,  admissions  and  impeach- 
ing questions  and  evidence  is  essential  to  reach  the  truth.  He 
and  not  the  judge  should  be  conferred  with  in  advance  by  parties 
seeking  complaints  or  petitions  as  to  the  desirability  of  the  pro- 
posed course.  Probation  officers  will  not  bring  parties  seeking 
complaints  or  petitions  to  the  court  for  advice  but  will  take  them 
to  the  district  attorney.  A  judge  should  not  be  asked  to  advise 
as  to  whether  or  not  petitions  or  complaints  should  be  filed  in  his 
court. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  probation  officers  to  assist  the  district 
attorney  attached  to  the  juvenile  court,  and  particularly  in  those 
cases  in  which  adults  are  charged  with  contributing  to  the  de- 
pendency or  delinquency  of  minor  children,  especially  where 
these  cases  originate  in  the  probation  office,  instead  of  in  the 
office  of  the  district  attorney  or  in  police  headquarters.  The  chief 
probation  officer  will  make  an  assignment  of  these  adult  contrib- 
utory cases  in  which  it  is  essential  that  the  district  attorney  shall 
have  co-operation  from  the  probation  office  in  advance  of  the 
hearing  and  will  co-operate  with  him  in  the  presentation  of  the 
evidence. 

PHYSICAL  EXAMINATION. 

vSo  far  as  possible  every  child  coming  in  the  juvenile  court 
will  be  examined  by  a  physician.  Girls  shall  be  examined  by 
women  physicians  only.  The  consent  of  the  parents,  of  course, 
shall  in  all  cases  be  obtained  where  the  parents  are  living  in  the 
county  or  where  they  can  be  communicated  with.  The  reason 
lor  physical  examination  is  that  in  many  instances  abnormal 
physical  conditions  or  bodily  ailments  are  the  cause  ol  the  child 
being  in  court.  Simple  surgical  operations,  careful  and  regular 


82  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


feeding  and  abstinence  from  bad  habits  in  many  cases  will  solve 
the  problem  of  the  child's  delinquency. 

LABOR  PERMITS. 

Every  probation  officer,  deputy  and  assistant  should  be 
familiar  with  the  law  corncerning  the  issuance  of  labor  permits 
by  the  juvenile  court  and  by  the  school  authorities.  This  law 
provides  for  permits  from  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  only 
upon  investigation  by  the  probation  officers  in  cases  of  children 
between  twelve  and  fifteen  years  of  age.  Such  permits  can  only 
be  granted  "upon  a  sworn  statement  being  made  to  him  (the 
judge  of  the  juvenile  court)  by  the  parent  of  said  child  that  said 
child  is  past  the  age  of  twelve  years  ;  that  the  parent  or  parents 
of  said  child  are  incapacitated  for  labor,  through  illness,  and  after 
investigation  by  a  probation  officer."  Statutes  1911,  page  911. 
It  will  be  observed  that  the  only  authority  for  issuing  permits 
is  the  case  of  illness  incapacitating  the  parent  for  labor.  The  fact 
that  the  parent  needs  the  help  of  the  child,  or  that  the  child  would 
be  better  off  than  idle  are  insufficient  under  the  law  for  the  issu- 
ance of  a  permit.  In  such  cases  there  has  been  an  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  Civic  League  to  provide  a  fund  known  as  a  "scholar- 
ship fund"  to  help  the  parents  while  the  children  are  being  kept 
in  school.  This  is  entirely  a  matter  of  charity,  but  probation 
officers  should  do  all  they  can  to  put  parents  in  touch  with 
those  agencies  which  will  relieve  the  distress  brought  to  their 
attention  and  should  have  the  necessary  information  so  to  do. 

PRESENTING  MATTERS  TO  THE  JUDGE  AND  THE  COURT. 

The  probation  officers  must  never  send  people  to  the  judge. 
This  has  been  the  custom  in  the  past  and  in  many  cases  of  doubt 
probation  officers  have  sent  parties  who  desired  additional  orders 
to  "talk  it  over  with  the  judge."  Hereafter  whenever  a  matter 
is  presented  to  the  probation  officer  which  should  be  brought  to 
the  attention  of  the  judge,  the  probation  officer  will  accompany 
such  person  to  the  chambers  of  the  judge.  If  it  is  essential 
to  have  a  modification  of  the  order  theretofore  made  in  the  case, 
he  shall  present  to  the  judge,  at  the  proper  time,  a  written  request 
for  the  order  desired.  The  necessity  of  avoiding  misunderstand- 
ings and  the  increased  volume  of  work  on  both  the  judge  and  the 
probation  officer  make  this  imperative.  A  time  will  be  fixed  for 
the  hearing  of  such  orders.  If  a  party  or  parent  desires  to  appeal 
to  the  court  from  the  decision  of  the  probation  officer  or  an  order 
or  suggestion  of  probation  officer,  they  shall  be  furnished  with 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  83 

the  necessary  paper  and  submit  the  matter  in  writing  in  the  form 
of  a  petition  and  file  the  same  with  the  court.  Where  the  request 
is  recommended  by  the  probation  officer,  the  report  and  petition 
should  come  from  the  probation  officer.  No  attempt  should  be 
made  by  any  probation  officer  under  any  circumstances  to  keep 
persons  from  presenting  the  questions  that  they  desire  to  submit 
to  the  court  from  being  presented  in  a  regular  and  proper  way. 
Parties  should  all  be  given  to  understand  that  they  have  the 
opportunity  by  petition  and  presenting  their  matters  in  court 
at  the  proper  time  to  have  any  question  determined  in  connec- 
tion with  their  children  who  are  under  probation.  The  judge 
will  determine  at  the  time  the  petition  is  filed,  when  the  same 
shall  be  heard,  what  process  shall  issue,  if  any,  in  connection 
with  the  hearing,  whether  or  not  the  order  may  be  made  ex  parte 
or  denied  upon  the  petition  filed  and  without  further  investiga- 
tion. These  rules  are  made  necessary  by  the  fact  that  the  orders 
of  the  juvenile  court  are  subject  to  modification  at  any  time. 
That  all  petitions  filed  for  such  modification  must  state  upon 
their  face  and  under  oath  the  reason  why  such  modification  is 
sought.  Where  petitions  are  filed  by  the  parent  or  other  person 
in  reference  to  the  case  of  a  child  who  is  a  ward  of  the  court  and 
such  petition  is  not  accompanied  by  a  favorable  recommendation 
of  the  probation  officer,  such  cases  will  be  immediately  referred 
to  the  probation  officer  for  investigation  and  report,  and  ordi- 
narily no  hearing  will  be  held  until  such  report  has  been  made. 

THE  JUDGE  AND  THE  PROBATION  OFFICE. 

The  judge  will  interfere  as  little  as  possible  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  probation  office,  but,  being  charged  with  the  obliga- 
tion to  see  that  affairs  in  that  office  are  properly  conducted  and 
with  the  authority  to  bring  that  to  pass,  the  judge  will  not  hesi- 
tate to  call  upon  the  chief  probation  officer  or  any  deputy  or 
assistant  in  the  office,  either  indirectly  through  the  chief  or 
directly  for  any  assistance  or  investigation  or  duty  which  he 
feels  should  be  done,  and  such  orders  must  be  obeyed  promptly. 
Ordinarily  such  orders  will  be  conveyed  through  the  head  of  the 
office  or  through  or  to  some  person  designated  by  the  head  of  the 
office,  but  this  is  not  essential  and  will  be  varied  at  any  time  at 
the  pleasure  of  the  judge. 

APPOINTMENT  OF  PROBATION  OFFICERS. 

The  subject  of  the  appointment  of  probation  officers  is  fully 
discussed  in  the  communication  from  the  judge  to  the  probation 
committee  in  ^\Iay,  1911,  which  is  herewith  set  out  in  full,  ft  will 


84  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


be  observed  that  this  order  of  May,  1911,  follows  the  policy  here- 
tofore adopted  for  the  appointment  of  all  the  probation  officers, 
of  basing  said  appointment  entirely  upon  merit  without  regard 
to  politics.  \Yhile  this  was  done  before  the  present  non-partisan 
system  of  nominating  judges,  this  system  will  undoubtedly  make 
it  more  easy  to  keep  the  probation  office  "out  of  politics."  Pro- 
bation officers,  of  course,  derive  their  authority,  like  all  other 
officers  of  the  State  and  county,  from  the  people.  The  people 
of  the  county  elect  the  twelve  judges  of  the  Superior  Court  of 
the  county  and  hereafter,  though  not  heretofore,  that  election 
will  be  non-partisan.  A  majority  of  the  judges  so  elected  select 
one  of  their  number  to  act  as  the  judge  of  the  "Juvenile  Court." 
The  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  then  selects  the  members  of  the 
probation  committee.  These  members  serve  four  years,  and  as 
their  terms  of  office  expire  at  different  times  there  never  can  be 
a  complete  change  of  the  probation  committee  at  one  time. 
This  non-partisan  committee  appointed  by  a  non-partisan  judge 
selected  by  twelve  non-partisan  judges  as  aforesaid  nominates 
the  probation  officers,  and  if  these  nominations  are  satisfactory 
to  the  judge,  the  nominees  arc  appointed  by  him  to  hold  office 
for  two  years  and  at  the  pleasure  of  the  said  judge  of  the  "juvenile 
court."  This  power  of  selection  and  dismissal,  as  well  as  the 
fact  that  the  judge  is  the  elective  officer  charged  with  the  respon- 
sibility by  the  people,  places  the  burden  of  the  office  upon  his 
shoulders.  If  that  burden  is  rightly  borne  it  always  must  be  a 
burden  which  any  judge  would  be  glad  to  have  in  other  hands. 
It  is  doubtful  however,  if  any  better  means  of  appointment  can  be 
devised  for  the  selection  of  able  and  efficient  probation  officers  and 
any  elective  system  would  ipso  facto  throw  the  probation  office 
into  politics.  Every  effort  has  been  made  in  the  legislation  con- 
cerning the  juvenile  court  to  avoid  that  condition.  Happily,  in 
this  county,  the  members  of  the  probation  committee  are  of  such 
character  and  standing  that  they  have  taken  very  seriously  the 
unpaid  duties  which  devolve  upon  them.  They  have  been  very 
conscientious  in  their  recommendation  of  probation  officers  and 
those  recommendations  have  without  exception  been  accepted 
by  the  judge.  JJut  in  some  other  counties,  either  because  of 
ignorance  or  indifference,  the  probation  committees  have  some- 
times failed  to  either  understand  or  perform  their  duties.  Of 
course  in  time  this  will  change  in  every  county,  but  it  is  the 
desire  of  the  judge  in  this  jurisdiction  to  support  the  probation 
committee  in  their  labor  ol  love  in  every  possible  way  consistent 
with  the  performance  of  the  duties  devolving  upon  him.  The 
effort  to  turn  ovei  the  management  of  the  probation  office  to  the 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  85 


probation  committee  has  not  met  with  the  success  which  com- 
mends itself  to  the  judge.  The  increasing  and  arduous  duties 
imposed  upon  the  probation  committee,  not  only  in  the  nomina- 
tion of  all  probation  officers  and  all  the  officials  at  the  detention 
and  parental  schools,  but  the  active  supervision  of  both  parental 
and  detention  home  makes  it  imperative  that  the  control  of  the 
probation  office  shall  be  in  the  chief  probation  officer  under  the 
direction  of  the  judge  with  such  assistance  as  the  judge  may  be 
able  to  get  from  the  probation  committee  in  a  friendly  and  ad- 
visory way.  It  seems  to  be  considered  an  axiom  in  religion  and 
law  that  no  man  can  serve  two  masters  and  the  probation  officers 
are  expected  to  look  to  the  court,  particularly  to  the  rules  and 
directions  therein  given  as  a  guide  to  them  in  the  conduct  of  their 
official  duties. 

RELATION  TO  HUMANE  SOCIETY  AND  OTHER  CHILD 
SAVING   ORGANIZATIONS. 

It  is  essential  that  the  probation  officers  of  the  juvenile 
court  co-operate,  so  far  as  possible,  with  the  agencies  and  agents 
of  all  child  saving  organizations.  The  work  of  the  Humane  So- 
ciety, while  very  broad  in  its  scope  so  far  as  the  juvenile  court 
is  concerned,  is  of  most  help  in  the  investigation  of,  and  presenta- 
tion of,  those  cases  in  which  children  are  abused  and  destitute 
and  in  the  punishment  of  those  cases  in  which  adults  have  con- 
tributed to  the  condition  of  dependency  or  delinquency.  It  is 
not  the  purpose  at  this  time  to  accurately  define  the  duties  of 
this  organization,  but  it  will  be  necessary  in  many  instances  for 
the  probation  officers  to  refer  cases  brought  to  them  to  the 
Humane  Society  for  investigation.  It  is  important  for  the  pro- 
bation officers  in  dealing  with  those  engaged  in  child  saving 
work  to  remember  that  the  probation  officers  are  responsible 
only  for  their  performance  of  their  own  duties  and  the  agents 
of  these  other  agencies  are  responsible  to  the  organization  ap- 
pointing them  and  through  them  to  the  public  for  the  faithful 
performance  of  their  duties.  There  should  be  no  spirit  of  jealousy 
or  competition  on  the  part  of  probation  officers  with  regard  to 
these  other  agencies.  There  is  not  only  work  enough  for  every- 
body, but  each  is  responsible  through  the  appropriate  channels 
to  the  public. 

DEPARTMENTS  OF  THE  PROBATION   OFFICE. 

The  probation  office  will  have  two  general  departments — 
first,  the  adult  work,  which  department  shall  have  charge  <>!  pro- 
bation from  all  the  courts  of  the  county  in  the  case  of  adults. 


86  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

This  department  shall  also  co-operate  with  the  other  department 
in  the  presentation  of  those  cases  involving  adult  contributory 
charges. 

The  second  department  of  the  work  will  be  divided  into  two 
subdivisions:  First,  the  care  of  all  children  committed  to  the 
probation  office.  Second,  the  department  of  voluntary  probation 
officers  which  shall  be  supervised  by  one  of  the  paid  probation 
officers  to  be  designated  hereafter.  This  department  shall  seek 
the  active  co-operation  of  people  throughout  the  county  willing 
to  do  voluntary  probation  work.  Such  persons  will  be  appointed 
voluntary  probation  officers  when  nominated  by  the  probation 
committee  and  approved  by  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court.  The 
particular  reason  for  making  this  a  separate  department  is  that 
the  voluntary  probation  officers  will  not  be  required  to  give  any 
more  time  than  they  are  able  to  give  and  that  they  will  only  be 
expected  to  take  care  of  that  portion  of  the  work  which  they  vol- 
untarily assume. 

Further  subdivisions  of  the  work  will  be  made  in  the  special 
order  assigning  different  probation  officers  to  different  work. 
Among  those  subdivisions  will  be  the  subdivision  dividing  the 
smaller  boys  from  the  larger,  dividing  the  girls'  department  from 
the  boys'  department  and  making  special  assignments  to  pro- 
bation officers  of  various  lines  of  the  probation  work  to  be  desig- 
nated more  particularly  in  these  instructions  and  in  orders  here- 
after to  be  given. 

THE  ADULT  DEPARTMENT. 

This  department  will  be  as  much  separated  from  the  general 
work  as  is  possible  and  will  be  under  the  direct  supervision  of 
the  chief  probation  officer.  One  of  the  assistant  probation  officers 
shall  be  assigned  particularly  to  this  department  and  will  have 
charge  of  the  other  probation  officers  both  paid  and  voluntary 
who  may  be  assigned  to  this  department.  Through  this  assistant 
probation  officer  in  charge  of  this  work  the  chief  probation  officer 
will  keep  in  touch  with  the  work,  but  the  responsibility  for  this 
department  will  rest  largely  upon  the  assistant  placed  in  charge 
of  the  department.  These  probation  officers  for  adults,  while 
appointed  by  the  judge  upon  the  nomination  of  the  probation 
committee,  are  under  the  direct  supervision  of  the  judges  of  the 
criminal  department  of  the  Superior  Court  and  under  the  various 
justices  who  place  men  and  women  on  probation.  This  depart- 
ment of  the  work  will  be  one  of  growing  importance.  We  are 
just  beginning  to  take  up  the  work  of  misdemeanor  cases  in  the 
city.  The  police  department  will  be  asked  to  name  through  its 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  87 

police  commission  such  officers  as  it  feels  would  be  particularly 
helpful  in  probation  work.  These  officers  if  approved  by  the 
probation  committee  and  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  will 
be  appointed  as  voluntary  probation  officers.  It  will  then  be 
possible  for  the  justices  of  the  peace  and  the  police  courts  of  the 
city  to  assign  probation  cases  to  these  officers  who  have  super- 
vision over  such  probationers.  It  will  no  doubt  be  found  that 
this  system  will  be  the  only  one  by  which  women  charged  with 
vagrancy  can  be  successfully  managed.  The  police  department 
has  already  appointed  some  women  police  officers  and  others 
may  be  added  to  assist  in  this  department  of  the  work.  When 
necessary  this  matter  will  be  laid  before  the  police  commission 
for  their  consideration. 

HOME  FINDING. 

One  of  the  most  important  functions  of  the  probation  officer 
is  the  finding  of  either  permanent  or  temporary  homes  for  chil- 
dren in  families.  This  has  been  accomplished  in  various  ways. 
One  of  the  best  means  has  been  by  advertisement  in  the  daily 
newspapers  of  Los  Angeles  and  a  careful  investigation  of  such 
persons  as  apply  for  children  before  placing  such  children  with 
such  families  on  probation.  The  Children's  Home  Society  of 
California  has  been  of  the  utmost  assistance  in  the  placing  of 
those  children  who  are  under  the  supervision  of  the  juvenile 
court.  Other  agencies  have  assisted  in  this  work.  Under  the 
present  law  it  is  essential  that  permits  be  obtained  from  the 
State  Board  of  Charities  and  Corrections  before  any  organi/a- 
tion  is  authorized  to  engage  in  this  work.  The  probation  officers, 
of  course,  so  far  as  they  work  through  any  such  agencies  will 
only  do  so  through  those  who  are  properly  authenticated.  This 
does  not  mean,  however,  that  other  agencies  may  not  find  and 
present  to  the  probation  office  and  the  court  for  consideration 
homes  that  may  be  found  for  children.  And  indeed  all  those  who 
bring  children  before  the  court  should  be  encouraged,  so  far  as 
possible,  to  co-operate  in  the  final  disposition  of  the  children. 
The  authority,  however,  of  course  in  this  matter  will  lie  with 
the  probation  officer  under  the  supervision  of  the  judge  of  the 
juvenile  court. 

LENGTH  OF  PROBATION. 

.As  it  will  be  a  part  of  the  duty  of  the  probation  officers  in 
the  adult  department  to  make  recommendations  with  regard  to 
probation,  it  may  be  noted  that  the  probation  period  in  regard  to 
all  offenses  in  the  State  is  limited  by  the  maximum  term  pro- 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  89 

vided  by  law  for  the  punishment  of  such  offenses.  This,  how- 
ever, is  not  true  with  reference  to  those  cases  of  adults  contrib- 
uting to  the  dependency  or  delinquency  of  minor  children,  for 
this  is  regulated  by  the  separate  statute  on  that  subject  found  in 
Section  26  of  the  Juvenile  Court  Law.  It  was  first  thought  by 
some  that  short  terms  of  probation  were  the  best  and  this  in  order 
that  the  matter  might  not  get  on  the  nerves  of  the  probationer 
so  that  he  would  run  away  to  escape  the  supervising  influences 
of  the  court.  But  experience  has  demonstrated  that  longer 
periods  are  better.  The  .probation  authority  may  be  gradually 
relaxed  and  with  the  power  on  the  part  of  the  probation  officer 
to  recommend  to  the  court  whenever  the  man  has  thoroughly 
reformed  so  that  the  plea  may  be  allowed  to  be  changed  and  the 
case  be  dismissed  (thus  wiping  out  the  conviction  and  restoring 
the  man  to  full  citizenship),  makes  a  prize  worth  striving. 

It  has  been  held  that  the  Superior  Court  has  power  to  in- 
crease the  limit  of  probation  after  the  original  order  is  made, 
where  the  conduct  of  the  person,  in  the  judgment  of  the  court, 
merits  such  an  order.  In  the  case  of  People  vs.  Sizelove,  such 
an  order  of  extension  was  made  and  thereafter  and  during  the 
extended  period  of  probation  and  after  the  expiration  of  the 
period  mentioned  in  the  original  order,  the  conduct  of  the  de- 
fendant in  the  opinion  of  the  court  justified  his  being  sent  to  the 
penitentiary.  An  appeal  was  taken  to  the  Supreme  Court  and 
the  judgment  of  the  lower  court  affirmed.  Evidently  there  are 
times  when  a  man  is  brought  before  the  court  for  violation  of 
his  probation  and  when  it  may  not  seem  necessary  to  at  once 
send  him  to  the  penitentiary  and  therefore  this  plan  of  extended 
probation  would  be  desirable  to  be  recommended  by  the  proba- 
tion officer.  Instructions  in  regard  to  bringing  men  before  the 
court  for  violation  of  parole  will  be  given  by  the  judges  in  the 
departments  placing  such  men  on  probation,  but  ordinarily  this 
should  be  done  by  a  verified  petition  and  opportunity  should  be 
given  to  the  man  to  be  heard. 


GRAPHIC  CARDS.* 

The  object  of  the  graphic  card  is  two-fold — to  show  the  pro- 
bationer from  week  to  week  the  progress  that  has  been  made; 
and  to  have  a  record  that  shows  the  judge  at  a  glance  the  history 
of  the  probationer. 

Experience  has  shown  that  if  the  probation  officer  makes  it  a 
point  to  call  the  attention  of  the  probationer  to  the  marking  that 

*Sce  opposite  page. 


90  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

they  will  become  interested  in  keeping  the  record  a  good  one. 

The  first,  second  and  third  year  cards  form  a  method  by 
which  the  probationer  may  work  off  of  probation  by  continued 
good  behavior.  Beginning  with  the  "first  year"  card  the  proba- 
tioner reports  semi-monthly  unless  otherwise  ordered  by  the 
court.  After  a  period  of  six  months  or  more  of  good  conduct  and 
regular  reporting  monthly  reports  only  may  be  required,  which 
places  the  record  on  a  "second  year"  card. 

If  excellent  conduct  continues,  the  reports  may  be  at  inter- 
vals of  three  months,  recorded  on  the  "third  year"  card.  There- 
upon the  probationer  becomes  a  candidate  for  dismissal — or  if 
the  original  charge  was  a  serious  one  or  if  it  does  not  seem  wise 
that  the  court  should  lose  jurisdiction  of  the  case,  the  probationer 
may  be  excused  by  the  judge  from  further  reporting.  Never  ex- 
cuse a  probationer  from  reporting  without  an  order  of  the  court 
to  that  effect. 

On  the  other  hand,  if,  during  the  probationary  period  the 
probationer  is  guilty  of  another  offense  he  is  reduced  in  rank 
to  the  first  year  card  and  to  the  semi-monthly  reports,  to  go 
through  the  whole  process  again. 

Method  of  Marking. — The  conduct  line  should  be  a  continu- 
ous line  ;  but  all  records  falling  below  "G"  should  be  recorded  in 
red  ink. 

Great  care  should  be  exercised  in  recording  the  place  of  cus- 
tody and  the  number  and  times  of  the  visits  made  to  the  home 
of  the  probationer.  Be  sure  to  indicate  the  number  of  the  felony 
as  1st,  2nd.  3rd,  etc.,  in  each  instance. 

Efficiency  Line. — The  efficiency  line  refers  to  school  or  work. 
Two  consecutive  failures  to  report,  without  good  excuse,  should 
constitute  sufficient  cause  for  a  report  to  the  court. 

REMEMBER  that  the  system  of  reporting  does  not  take 
the  place  of  the  visitation  of  the  home,  and  that  the  probation 
officer  is  required  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  home  and  the  sur- 
roundings of  the  probationer. 

THE  SUPREME  COURT  SAYS: 

The  Juvenile  Court  Law  "aims,  as  its  principal  object,  at  the 
proper  custody  and  education  of  children  who  lack  the  care  and 
control  deemed  essential  to  their  right  development,  whether  or 
not  their  situation  be  such  as  to  be  likely  to  lead  them  to  actual 
crime." — From  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State  of 
California,  in  bank  rendered  Feb.  o,  1912  in  re  Maginniss  43  Cal. 
Dec.  187. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  91 


Rules  for  the  Guidance  of  Probation  Officers  in 

the  Performance  of  Their  Duty,  Promulgated 

by  the  Chief  Probation  Officer  and  approved 

by  the  Judge  of  the  Juvenile  Court  and 

the  Probation  Committee 


Rule  1  :  All  probation  officers,  deputy  probation  officers  and 
assistant  probation  officers  and  other  employes  engaged  in  the 
probation  office  shall  be  in  their  office  at  8:30  a.  m.  unless  delayed 
for  good  reason,  in  which  event  they  shall  telephone  the  office  the 
reason  for  the  delay  and  when  they  may  be  expected. 

Rule  2 :  "\Yhen  leaving  the  office  each  probation  officer  and 
employe  shall  mark  on  the  bulletin  board  the  time  when  they  ex- 
pect to  return  and  if  detained  for  a  longer  time,  the  office  should 
be  notified  by  telephone. 

Rule  3 :  Special  visiting,  must  not  be  indulged  in  during 
business  hours. 

Rule  4:  Officers  having  cases  in  court  shall  remain  at  their 
•desks,  unless  otherwise  ordered,  and  will  be  sent  for  in  time  to  be 
present  at  the  hearing  of  the  cases  assigned  to  them  ;  provided, 
however,  that  where  cases  are  set  to  be  heard  between  9  :30  and 
10  a.  m.,  all  p.  Nation  officers  having  cases  during  that  period 
shall  be  in  attendance  upon  the  court  during  that  period  unless 
otherwise  ordered. 

Rule  5  :  Reports.  As  soon  as  possible  after  a  petition  is 
filed  charging  a  person  with  being  dependent  or  delinquent,  the 
chief  probation  officer  will  assign  such  case  to  a  deputy  or  as- 
sistant probation  officer  for  investigation  and  report  as  provided 
for  in  Section  15  of  the  Juvenile  Court  Law.  And  unless  other- 
wise ordered  by  the  court  or  chief  probation  officer,  the  probation 
officer  making  the  investigation  will  be  the  one  to  take  charge 
of  such  case  if  the  same  is  placed  under  the  supervision  of  the 
probation  officer  after  the  hearing  and  examination  of  the  case  by 
the  court. 

Tt  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  officer  so  assigned  to  such  case 
as  aforesaid  to  be  in  court  at  the  hearing  so  that  if  the  person  is 


92  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


placed  on  probation  under  the  supervision  of  the  probation 
officer,  the  probation  officer  may  receive  such  special  directions 
as  may  be  given  by  the  court  in  connection  with  said  probation 
and  may  hear  the  evidence  in  the  case  so  as  to  be  familiar  with 
the  surroundings  and  persons  involved  in  the  case.  Immediately 
after  the  case  has  been  disposed  of  by  the  court,  the  probation 
officer  in  charge  of  the  person  and  with  the  parent  or  parents  of 
said  person  shall  repeat  such  instructions  as  may  have  been 
given  to  them  by  the  court  and  give  such  additional  written 
instructions  concerning  their  obligation  to  report  as  are  provided 
in  the  written  blanks  for  that  purpose.  The  probation  officer  at 
that  time  will  make  such  helpful  suggestions  as  may  tend  to 
secure  the  co-operation  of  parents  and  of  probationer  with  the 
court.  As  soon  as  such  officer  returns  to  the  office  he  shall  at 
once  make  proper  entries  on  the  history  and  graphic  cards  and 
see  that  all  papers  are  returned  to  their  proper  files.  Each  pro- 
bation officer  will  be  held  responsible  for  the  accuracy  and  acces- 
sibility of  the  record  in  the  cases  in  their  charge. 

Rule  6:  All  reports  to  the  court,  including  recommendations 
in  cases  already  assigned  to  the  probation  officer  or  any  modi- 
fication of  an  order,  however  slight,  must  be  in  writing  and  filed 
with  the  court.  "The  probation  officer  shall  inquire  into  the  ante- 
cedents, character,  family  history,  environment  and  cause  of 
dependency  or  delinquency  of  every  alleged  dependent  or  delin- 
quent person  brought  before  the  juvenile  court,  and  to  make 
his  report  in  writing  to  the  judge  thereof."  Such  report  should 
be  a  plain  statement  of  the  facts,  where  the  facts  as  definitely 
ascertained  should  be  couched  in  calm,  temperate  language  and 
presented  in  a  way  that  will  not  be  unnecessarily  provoking  to 
the  parties  referred  to  in  the  report.  Superlative  adjectives 
should  be  avoided.  Such  expressions  as  "neighborhood  rows," 
"family  quarrels,"  "spite  work,"  should  be  avoided. 

Reports  should  also  indicate  in  a  general  way  the  line  of 
evidence  upon  which  the  witness  should  be  questioned  by  the 
district  attorney  or  the  court  in  examining  the  witnesses.  If  a 
recommendation  is  made  it  should  be  substantially  in  the  follow- 
ing form  :  "If  the  court  finds  said  person  to  be  delinquent  (or 
dependent)  it  is  respectfully  recommended  that"  and  so  forth. 

Rule  7 :  \\  henever  it  is  necessary  to  return  a  person  on  pro- 
bation lor  an  additional  order  or  for  a  modification  of  an  exist- 
ing order,  there  should  be  a  written  report  filed  by  the  officer  in 
charge  of  the  case  stating  the  change  in  conditions  which  require 
the  modification. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  93 

Rule  8:  Whenever  it  is  necessary  to  secure  the  attendance 
of  any  delinquent  or  dependent  person  by  an  arrest,  the  report 
heretofore  mentioned  shall  be  verified  and  filed  and  a  warrant 
will  be  issued  as  a  basis  for  such  arrest.  This  direction,  however, 
is  not  intended  to  interfere  with  the  right  of  the  probation  officer 
in  such  cases  to.  make  an  arrest  without  a  warrant  but  rather  to 
be  the  general  policy  which  should  ordinarily  be  followed. 

Rule  9:  All  probation  officers'  reports  must  be  addressed  to 
the  court  in  which  the  case  is  pending  as  follows:  "To  the  Hon- 
orable Superior  Court  of  the  State  of  California,  in  and  for  the 
County  of  Los  Angeles."  And  in  cases  in  the  juvenile  court  the 
words  "Sitting  as  a  Juvenile  Court"  should  be  added. 

Rule  10:  When  an  order  is  made  for  the  county  to  pay  for 
the  support  of  any  person,  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  case  will 
furnish  a  memorandum  of  said  order  to  the  county  board  of 
supervisors,  showing  the  name  of  such  person,  the  place  to  which 
committed,  the  time  when  the  order  commences  and  when  it  ex- 
pires. 

Rule  11:  Every  officer  should  have  such  exact  information 
in  regard  to  every  person  in  his  charge  that  he  may  be  able 
to  give  the  court  or  probation  officer  an  accurate  report  in  regard 
to  him  when  called  for. 

Rule  12:  Mrs.  Frances  H.  Byram,  assistant  probation  officer, 
shall  have  charge  of  the  calendar  of  the  juvenile  court  and  under 
the  direction  of  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  will  fix  the  time 
for  the  hearing  of  the  various  cases  and  direct  the  probation 
officer  to  whom  the  case  is  assigned  to  secure  subpoenas  and 
citations  from  the  court  and  with  reference  to  the  service  of  the 
same.  The  probation  officer  making  the  investigation  will  serve 
all  processes  of  court  upon  the  witnesses  and  parents  and  persons 
interested  unless  different  direction  is  given  by  the  court,  the 
chief  probation  officer  or  assistant  probation  officer.  So  far  as 
possible  these  papers  shall  be  served  at  the  time  of  the  investiga- 
tion of  the  case  by  the  probation  officer. 

Rule  13:    Sending  for  children  outside  the  count}-. 

It  is  the  policy  of  the  juvenile  court  to  send  for  and  secure 
the  attendance  of  all  runaway  probationers,  not  only  because  of 
the  importance  of  the  person  in  the  particular  case  but  also  be- 
cause of  the  fact  that  it  is  important  to  have  it  thoroughly  under- 
stood that  no  person  can  escape  the  supervisive  powers -of  the 
court  and  probation  officers  by  leaving  the  count}*  without  per- 


94  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


mission.  In  this  connection  the  probation  officers  will  co-operate 
with  the  probation  officers  of  other  counties  to  return  to  those 
counties  such  probationers  as  may  escape  therefrom. 

Rule  14:  No  person  shall  be  detained  at  the  detention  home 
or  in  the  city  or  county  jail  by  any  officer  connected  with  the 
juvenile  court  without  such  child  being  brought  before  the  court 
for  an  order  with  reference  to  its  custody. 

Rule  15:  It  is  the  policy  of  the  juvenile  court  to  release 
persons  awaiting  a  hearing  as  to  the  dependency  or  delinquency 
without  bail  where  there  is  reasonable  assurance  that  such  person 
will  be  in  attendance  upon  the  hearing  of  the  court.  This  is  par- 
ticularly true  with  reference  to  young  children.  They  should 
not  be  detained  in  custody  unless  it  is  absolutely  unavoidable, 
provided,  however,  the  nature  of  the  case  is  such  that  such  release 
would  not  be  justified  under  the  circumstances  or  where  they 
have  been  brought  into  court  because  of  an  unfit  home,  when  an 
appropriate  order  for  the  detention  of  such  persons  will  be  made. 


HIS  FIRST  OFFENCE 

Painting  by   Lady  Dorothy  Stanley,   referred  to  in  the  letter  on  opposite 

\IUK>-  anil  adopted  as  a  letterhead   for  use  in  the 

Los   Anjreles  Juvenile  Court. 


2,  WHITEHALL   COURT. 


Lady   Dorothy   Stanley    is    the    widow  of   Sir  Henry  M.  Stanley, 
the  great  African  explorer. 


The  Delinquent  Child  in  the  Juvenile 

Court 

An  Address  By  Curtis   D.   Wilbur 

Before  the  Willowbrook  Parent-Teachers  Association,  January,   1912 


CHILDREN  SAVED  FROM  JAILS. 

A  pawn-broker  was  brought  before  the  grand  jury  of  this 
county  once  to  account  for  the  possession  of  certain  valuable 
diamonds.  His  stock  of  goods  at  that  time  was  worth  between 
one  and  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Surprised  at  his  in- 
ability to  account  for  the  possession  of  the  diamonds,  he  was 
asked  by  a  member  of  the  grand  jury  if  he  ever  took  an  in- 
ventory. He  said,  "Yes ;  I  take  an  inventory  very  frequently.  I 
count  out  thirty  dollars'  worth  of  property  and  all  the  rest 
is  profit."  In  considering  the  juvenile  court  as  we  shall  tonight, 
we  can  "count  out"  the  fact  that  thousands  of  children  have  been 
kept  out  of  jails,  reform  schools,  and  penitentiaries,  and  the 
degrading  influences  of  prison  associations,  and  saved  from  the 
recollections  which  stick  in  the  memory  of  a  child  who  has 
been  in  the  jail,  reform  school  or  penitentiary;  and  when  we 
have  counted  that  out  we  can  say  that  "all  the  rest"  i.  e.,  the 
humanitarian  and  other  efforts  of  those  connected  with  the 
juvenile  court  toward  the  upbuilding  of  the  young  "is  profit." 

NINE  YEARS  IN  THE  LOS  ANGELES  COUNTY 
JUVENILE  COURT. 

T  will  speak  tonight  concerning  the  juvenile  court  and.  par- 
ticularly, that  court  as  conducted  in  the  county  of  Los  Angeles. 
I  wish  to  remind  you  that  next  April  will  complete  nine  years  of 
work  in  the  juvenile  court, 'the  first  case  having  been  filed  nine 
years  ago  in  April.  Since  that  time  there  have  been  filed  over 
thirty-seven  hundred  cases  of  children — three  and  a  halt  regi- 
ments. 'There  have  been  in  the  last  two  years  in  the  juvenile 
court  of  I,os  Angeles  more  than  five  thousand  hearings.  There 
have  been  more  than  twice  as  many  felony  cases  heard  as  in  both 
criminal  departments  of  the  Superior  Court. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


FALSE  IDEAS  CONCERNING  THE  JUVENILE  COURT. 

The  juvenile  court  idea,  which  is  a  recent  growth  in  America 
and  which  the  nations  of  the  world  are  copying  from  America, 
is  still  in  its  infancy  and  is  in  a  large  measure  misunderstood, 
not  only  by  those  who  are  casually  acquainted  with  the  sub- 
ject, but  also  by  some  who  have  been  intimately  associated  with 
the  work  of  the  court.  There  are  many  false  ideas  concerning 
the  juvenile  court,  and  there  are  many  things  suggested  even 
by  those  who  are  cultured  and  educated  and  desire  the  welfare 
of  childhood  and  of  the  government  that  are  absolutely  im- 
practicable. 

A  DISGRACE. 

I  was  talking  not  long  ago  with  a  good  woman  who  is  in- 
terested in  the  juvenile  court  work.     This  lady  took  me,  or  at 
least,  the  juvenile  court,  to  task  because  it  was  coming  in  this 
county  to  be  a  disgrace  for  a  child  to  be  brought  into  the  juvenile 
court.    Just  how  or  why  I  should  be  accountable  for  that  or  just 
how  or  why  the  plan  should  be  accountable  for  the  fact  that  it 
might  be  considered  a  disgrace,  is  more  than  I   can  figure  out. 
\\'c  regard  things  as  a  disgrace  or  not  according  to  our  education. 
I  can  illustrate  that  by  an  incident  that  occurred  in  connection 
W'ith  the  life  of  one  of  my  small  children.     This  boy  had  com- 
menced to  play  with  a  couple  of  neighbor  boys  and  his  mother 
was   interested    in    ascertaining    whether   the    neighbor    children 
were  the  kind  of  boys  with  whom  we  wanted  our  boy  to  play. 
\Ye   asked   the   little   fellow   whether   boys   with   whom   he   was 
playing  used  bad  language.     The  little  fellow  looked  very  much 
embarrassed    and    quite    guilty,    and    finally    looked    up    into    his 
mother's   face  and  said,  "They   say   'aint."     Xo\v,  his   aunt  and 
his  mother  were  trying  to  break  the  boy  of  a   family  habit  of 
saying  ''aint."  and  he  regarded  this  as  a  very  disgraceful  thing. 
Any  sane  person  would  regard  it  a  disgrace  to  have  a  child  taken 
anywhere — around  the  corner  to  a  police  station,  or  to  a  school 
teacher  or  to  a  Sunday-school  teacher,  or  to  a  preacher — because 
he  had  committed  the  crime  of  burglary  or  grand  larceny.     The 
disgrace   lies   in   the   fact   that   the  offense   has   been   committed. 
\Yc  can  never  invent  and  I  hope  we  shall  never  be  able  to  invent 
any   plan    which    will    make   it   respectable   to   commit   crime,   or 
which  will  reward  criminals  for  their  misconduct. 

When  states  prisons  replaced  the  hangman's  noose  there  was 
rejoicing;  when  reform  schools  represented  the  sole  means  of 
escaping  the  lelon's  stripes,  parents  hailed  its  advent  with  tears 
of  joyful  thanksgiving;  when  the  juvenile  court  plan  presented 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  97 


a  way  of  escape  from  the  otherwise  certain  prison,  or  reforma- 
tory, it  was  hailed  with  delight  by  sorrowing  fathers  and  weep- 
ing mothers.  But, 

"No  wretch  ever  felt  the  halter  draw, 
With  good  opinion  of  the  law," 

and  so  whether  it  be  the  rough  halter  of  old  or  the  silken  thread 
by  which  a  probation  officer  seeks  by  years  of  patient  effort  to 
guide  the  offender  to  righteousness,  there  will  be  in  each  case 
a  lack  of  appreciation  for  the  law.  We  do  not  like  to  feel  that  our 
conduct  merits  any  restraint — we  feel  disgraced,  and  so  those  who 
seek  the  best  things  for  their  children  will  desire  to  keep  them 
out  of  the  clutches  of  the  law.  No  matter  how  velvety  the  clutch ; 
nevertheless  all  these  instrumentalities  will  have  their  place. 
The  juvenile  court  plan  will  never  be  abandoned,  but  it  is  by  no 
means  the  last  word  in  juvenile  improvement  or  criminology. 
I  look  forward  to  see  Y.  M.  C.  A.  secretaries,  physicians,  school 
teachers,  playground  officials,  so  educated,  that  with  new  under- 
standing and  with  new  equipment,  children  will  be  so  treated 
with  the  "ounce  of  prevention"  that  the  "pound  of  cure"  will  be 
unnecessary  in  most  cases. 

BEFRIENDING  BOYS. 

One  of  the  difficulties  in  dealing  with  the  juvenile 
court  cases:  in  befriending  the  boys  who  come  into  the 
court  and  patting  them  on  the  back,  as  it  were,  is  the 
danger  of  getting  the  feeling  out  among  the  boys  of  the 
community  that,  after  all,  "it  is  all  right  when  they  have  done 
wrong  and  get  into  court,"  that  they  have  friends  to  get  them  out 
and  when  they  have  not  they  can  get  along  without  friends.  It 
has  been  essential  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  childhood  of  this 
county  that  children  should  feel  not  only  that  they  would  get 
a  square  deal  in  the  juvenile  court  and  be  well  treated,  but  also 
that  they  will  not  be  rewarded  for  the  commission  of  offenses. 
I  remember  to  have  listened  only  about  seven  years  ago  to  an  ad- 
dress by  a  juvenile  court  judge  from  another  state.  The  papers 
were  filled  with  what  he  was  doing  and  saying.  He  had  in  one 
meeting,  I  think,  sixteen  hundred  school  boys  who  had  come  to 
hear  him  speak.  He  gave  an  address  entitled  "A  Court  of  Honor," 
and  the  theme  of  his  address  was  that  children — boys  and  girls 
— placed  on  their  honor  would  thereafter  be  perfect  in  their 
demeanor.  The  newspapers  quoted  him  as  saying  that  he  had 
placed  a  large  number  of  boys  on  their  honor  and  that  not  one 
had  ever  broken  his  promise  to  him.  This  sounded  very  nice. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


and  when  we  think  of  it  seriously  we  can  realize  what  a  wonder- 
ful improvement  it  was  on  the  plan  of  the  Almighty  for  regu- 
lating human  conduct!  I  speak  reverently  when  I  say  it.  We 
have  all  been  put  on  our  honor.  That  is  a  part  of  the  system 
by  which  the  Creator  deals  with  us.  Yet  we  realixe  how  far 
short  we  come  of  that  which  is  expected  of  us.  The  fact  is 
that  the  claim  of  such  results  is  what  is  popularly  called  bun- 
combe, pure  and  simple.  We  do  know  that  there  is  good  in 
every  human  being.  We  do  understand  that  the  effective  way 
of  dealing  with  children  and  with  adults  toward  reformation 
is  that  which  reaches  and  takes  hold  of  the  good  and  lifts  it  up 
and  cuts  down,  so  far  as  possible,  the  bad.  But  to  say  that  any 
human  being  by  placing  another  on  honor  can  invariably  win 
him  to  righteousness  is  absurd. 

After  this  address  a  man  in  the  audience  thanked  the  speak- 
er for  this  portion  of  his  address,  saying:  "I  lived  back  there 
and  when  the  boys  and  girls  of  that  town  grow  up  there  will  be 
no  living  there.  I  was  hauling  a  load  of  watermelons  through 
the  streets  when  a  gang  of  boys  jumped  aboard  and  commenced 
to  help  themselves.  I  said,  'Stop  that,  boys,  or  I'll  have  you  in 
the  juvenile  court.'  'O,'  they  replied,  'we  don't  care  for  that; 
-  (the  judge)  is  our  friend.' ': 

LOVE,  PATIENCE,  PERSISTENCE  AND  FORGIVENESS. 

The  fact  is  that  in  dealing  with  the  children  in  the  juvenile 
court  (and  I  am  referring  now  to  the  children  who  have  been 
brought  before  the  court  and  have  been  adjudged  the  wards  of 
the  court),  we  have  to  use  the  same  general  plans  that  you  use 
in  your  home  in  dealing  with  your  children.  Can  you  put  your 
boy  on  honor  and  go  off  and  leave  him  till  he  is  twenty-one  and 
have  him  grow  up  into  righteous  manhood  and  good-citizenship? 
Can  you  do  that  with  your  girl?  No.  There  must  be  a  persist- 
ent and  constant  and  daily  effort.  There  must  be  daily  teaching 
given  them  on  the  way.  Those  are  the  tilings  essential  in  the 
home  and.  therefore,  the  same  things  are  essential  in  dealing 
with  children  who  are  the  wards  of  the  court.  There  should  be 
a  spirit  of  love  rather  than  a  spirit  of  hatred  or  domination.  There 
should  be  a  spirit  of  patience.  You  who  are  mothers;  yes,  you 
who  are  fathers,  realixe  what  a  figure  patience  cuts  in  dealing 
with  childhood.  And  you  who  are  older,  and  who  have  not  lived 
a  happy  childhood  which  should  have  been  yours,  look  back  to 
see  how  far  the  impatience  of  the  father  or  mother,  or  school 
teacher,  or  others  who  came  in  daily  contact  with  you.  marred 
your  life.  There  must  be  persistent  effort,  line  upon  line,  pre- 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  99 

cept  upon  precept,  day  after  day,  until  the  habit  of  goodness  and 
good  conduct  is  established  in  the  child.  Then  there  must  be, 
in  a  sense,  forgiveness.  It  can  never  be  the  duty  of  the  court 
to  forgive  crime,  nor  the  duty  of  a  judge  to  forgive  crime.  The 
pardoning  power  lies  with  the  governor;  but  so  large  a  discre- 
tion is  vested  in  the  judge  of  a  juvenile  court,  that  in  one  sense 
he  may  be  said  to  forgive  crime, and  to  say  to  the  boy  or  girl, 
"Go  and  sin  no  more."  The  crime  if  committed  is  regarded  as 
giving  to  the  court  jurisdiction,  the  opportunity,  to  deal  with 
the  child.  But  there  is  on  the  child  the  obligation  to  recipro- 
cate by  sinning  no  more. 

REWARDS  AND  PUNISHMENTS. 

There  must  be  worked  out,  in  all  plans  of  dealing  with  child- 
hood some  system  of  discipline,  of  rewarding  good  conduct  and 
punishing  evil  conduct.  No  juvenile  court  has  been  formulated 
for  the  purpose  of  rewarding  good  conduct.  Courts  are  intended 
for  the  purpose  of  dealing  with  those  whose  conduct  has  not 
been  good.  Nevertheless,  it  is  possible  for  probation  officers, 
it  is  possible  for  the  judge,  if  he  is  so  inclined,  to  reward  achieve- 
ment on  the  part  of  the  boy  or  girl  who  comes  before  the  court. 
I  remember  to  have  offered  to  a  boy  the  sum  of  five  dollars  if 
he  would  gain  five  pounds  in  five  months.  At  the  end  of  five 
months  he  came  to  me  and  claimed  the  five  dollars  and  received 
it.  A  boy  was  before  me  the  other  day  who  had  been  admon- 
ished some  months  before  that  it  was  his  duty  to  gain  eleven 
pounds  in  flesh.  He  was  not  especially  rewarded  for  doing  it, 
and  I  presume  you  wonder  what  that  admonition  has  to  do  with 
the  juvenile  court.  I  think  I  can  make  it  plain  to  you,  and  I 
will  try  to  do  so  in  just  a  moment's  time.  In  dealing  with  the 
children  that  come  before  us  we  find  that  very  many  of  them 
are  there  because  of  some  disability  or  some  physical  ailment  or 
some  physical  affliction.  In  trying,  as  we  do  in  dealing  with 
children,  to  arrive  at  the  cause  which  has  brought  them  into  the 
juvenile  court,  we  are  not  satisfied  with  considering  the  immedi- 
ate temptation.  We  seek  to  go  further  back  into  what  you  might 
call  the  character  of  the  boy  and,  even  further  than  that,  into 
the  bodily  constitution  of  the  child.  In  that  effort  we  have  found 
that  a  great  many  children  who  come  into  the  juvenile  court 
have  physical  defects  which  have  a  marked  effect  on  their  con- 
duct, such  defects  as  enlarged  tonsils,  adenoid  growths,  and 
the  need  of  circumcision.  Then,  of  course,  there  are  cases 
where  there  is  a  condition  which  has  come  about  by  the 
lack  of  proper  nourishment,  lack  of  keeping  proper  hours,  the 


100  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


use  of  cigarettes  and  other  things  which  tend  to  tear  down  the 
physical  body.  This  particular  hoy  who  was  instructed  to  gain 
eleven  pounds  of  flesh  was  a  boy  who  had  been  out  late  at  night; 
who  had  eaten  at  irregular  hours  and  had  eaten  poor  food.  He 
had  become  nervous  and  fidgety  and  was  skipping  from  one  place 
to  another  and  doing  all  sorts  of  things.  When  he  was  told  to 
gain  this  amount  of  flesh,  it  simply  meant  that  it  would  be 
necessary  for  him  to  keep  better  hours  and  eat  better  food,  and 
in  doing  that  he  would  achieve  a  better  mental  and  physical 
and  nervous  balance.  When  he  came  into  court  smilingly  to 
report  his  success,  he  came  in  at  the  same  time  with  a  good  re- 
port of  his  conduct  during  that  period. 

GOOD  PEOPLE  WITH  WRONG  IDEAS  OF  THE 
JUVENILE   COURT. 

There  are  some  people  who,  .vith  the  best  of  intentions  and 
the  best  of  character,  expect  of  the  juvenile  court  the  most  ab- 
surd impossibilities.  They  think  that  there  should  be  a  law, 
without  having  a  rule  of  'action  ;  a  juvenile  court  without  having 
a  court;  a  judge  who  is  not  a  judge — but  who  is  a  mere  record- 
ing officer  to  record  the  determinations  of  the  probation  officers. 
They  expect  to  have  a  trial  without  a  hearing;  a  determination 
of  facts  without  evidence  ;  a  court  of  great  power  without  hav- 
ing a  powerful  court.  They  expect  that  somehow  in  dealing 
with  almost  fifty  per  cent  of  the  crime  of  the  state  the  subject  of 
crime  will  not  at  all  be  mentioned.  The  mere  statement  of 
these  ideas  which  have  vague  form  in  the  minds  of  some  who  are 
tremendously  interested  in  the  good  of  childhood,  is  its  own 
refutation.  The  impossibility  is  apparent  on  its  face. 

CONFLICTING  CONSIDERATIONS. 

There  are  so  many  conflicting  considerations  in  connection 
with  the  juvenile  court  that  it  is  very  difficult  for  one  who  is 
unskilled  in  the  law  and  unskilled  in  childhood  to  gain  a  just 
appreciation  of  the  difficulties  of  the  situation.  The  court  in 
every  case,  in  a  measure,  shifts  its  position  entirely  during  the 
progress  of  the  case,  if  it  is  dealing  with  a  single  child.  If  your 
boy  who  is  here  tonight  should  be  brought  into  the  juvenile 
court,  the  attitude  of  the  court  would  first  be  that  of  a  court. 
There  would  be  a  pleading  filed  in  which  the  conduct  of  the 
child  would  be  characterized  according  to  the  facts.  The  boy 
would  be  given  an  opportunity  to  affirm  or  deny  the  proof  of 
those  charges.  The  judge  would  hear  the  evidence  so  far  as  is 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  101 

necessary  to  determine  whether  or  not  the  child  had  committed 
the  acts  specified  in  the  petition.  After  hearing  sufficient  evi- 
dence to  determine  that  fact,  he  would  hear  additional  evidence  in 
order  that  he  might  be  guided  in  the  ultimate  determination  as 
to  the  disposition  of  the  child.  Up  to  that  point  the  judge  acts 
as  the  judge  of  the  court,  and  the  purpose  is,  as  in  all  investi- 
gations, to  determine  the  truth.  It  is  just  as  much  the  duty  of 
the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  to  preserve  himself  free  from  in- 
fluences of  all  sorts  before  the  trial  as  it  is  for  any  judge  or 
juror  in  any  case.  Many  do  not  understand  this,  and  it  is  not 
an  uncommon  thing  for  very  good  people,  preachers  and  teach- 
ers, to  come  to  me  and  seek  interviews  in  advance  of  the  hearing 
of  cases  in  order  that  the  judge  might  be  advised  what  to  do. 
This  is  absolutely  wrong  and  should  not  be  permitted.  Such  evi- 
dence should  not  be  received.  The  judge  of  the  juvenile  court 
is  responsible  for  preserving  himself  free  from  outward  influ- 
ences just  as  much  as  is  the  juror  who  is  instructed  (as  you  who 
have  served  on  juries  know)  at  every  adjournment  not  to  "con- 
verse with  others  or  suffer  himself  to  be  addressed  on  any  sub- 
ject connected  with  the  trial  and  not  to  form  or  express  an  opin- 
ion in  the  case  until  it  is  finally  submitted  to  him."  After  the 
trial  of  the  case,  however,  and  after  it  has  been  determined  that 
the  child  should  be  thereafter  a  ward  of  the  court,  the  attitude 
of  the  court  at  once  changes  from  that  of  the  impartial  judge  to 
that  of  the  anxious  parent  seeking  the  good  of  the  child.  Every 
ward  of  the  court  is,  in  effect,  a  child  of  the  court,  and  I  stand 
before  you  tonight  the  father  (in  law)  of  some  seventeen  hun- 
dred children  who  are  now  under  active  probation  in  Los  Angeles 
county.  Some  of  you  who  are  trying  your  best  to  raise  one  or 
two  boys  may  appreciate  the  position  of  the  man  who  has  been 
elected,  in  part  at  least,  to  father  as  many  children  as  I  have  stat- 
ed, particularly  when  those  children  are  brought  to  him,  in  many 
instances,  entirely  because  they  are  beyond  the  control  of  their 
own  parents  and  are  essentially  bad.  I  inadvertently  used  an 
expression  which  some  may  not  like :  "essentially  bad."  I  could 
just  as  well  have  said  "essentially  good."  But,  after  all  is  said, 
we  know  the  children  brought  into  the  juvenile  court,  aside 
from  the  ones  who  are  destitute  and  are  brought  in  because  of 
the  misconduct  of  others,  are  ordinarily  worse  than  the  ones 
who  are  not  brought  into  the  court. 

EACH  CHILD  A  SEPARATE  PROBLEM. 

When   we   conic   to   dealing   with   these   children   who   have 
been   adjudged   wards   of   the   court,   we   are   confronted   with   a 


102  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

vast  number  of  problems.  Each  child  is  a  distinct  and  separate 
problem  from  every  other  child.  Two  boys  may  engage  in  ex- 
actly the  same  enterprise,  may  be  morally  and  legally  responsible 
to  exactly  the  same  extent,  and  yet  the  method  of  dealing  with 
the  two  boys  in  order  to  bring  out  results  of  good  citizenship, 
may  be  entirely  different.  When  I  first  took  charge  of  the  juve- 
nile court,  I  used  to  make  orders  which  would  seem  to  the  two 
boys  to  be  just  and  equal,  for  our  fundamental  ideas  of  justice 
are  that  there  shall  be  equal  treatment.  But  I  can  illustrate  by 
one  case  which  conies  to  my  mind  the  necessity  and  advantage 
of  treating  boys,  charged  with  the  same  offense,  differently.  Two 
boys  in  Hollywood  some  years  ago  were  brought  before  the  juve- 
nile court  for  the  commission  of  some  eighteen  or  twenty  bur- 
glaries. They  had  stolen  nearly  everything  that  you  can  think 
of,  from  a  mattress  to  a  cook  stove.  In  the  last  burglary  they 
had  committed  they  stole  eighty  dollars,  and  with  that  money 
had  purchased  guns,  boxing  gloves,  handcuffs  and  other  things 
which  escape  my  mind.  When  they  were  questioned  as  to  why 
they  bought  the  handcuffs,  it  developed  that  they  were  ambitious 
to  become  detectives.  It  seemed  to  me  in  studying  these  two 
boys  and  getting  the  story  from  their  parents,  that  one  of  them 
completely  dominated  the  other,  although  they  were  about  of 
the  same  age.  It  seemed  wise  to  return  this  boy  who  was  so 
dominated  to  his  o\vn  home  and  allow  him  to  remain  in  the  com- 
munity. This  was  done  and  the  boy  "made  good"  and  there 
never  has  been  a  complaint  filed  against  him  since.  What  he 
needed  in  the  first  instance  was  to  be  separated  from  this  boy  of 
more  powerful  will  and  of  greater  initiative.  The  other  boy, 
however,  was  sent  to  the  recently  formed  George  Junior  Repub- 
lic. There  he  was  elected  chief  of  police  and  was  about  to 
realize  his  ambition.  They  said  he  made  a  splendid  chief  of 
police.  He  was  very  strict  and  very  determined.  Finally,  after 
the  George  Junior  Republic  had  moved  to  Chino,  this  boy,  still 
chief  of  police  and  intrusted  with  the  keys  of  the  jail,  unlocked 
the  jail  and  permitted  all  the  prisoners  to  escape  and  escaped 
with  them.  This,  of  course,  disappointed  his  friends,  who  had 
rejoiced  in  his  apparent  effort  to  do  right.  But  in  a  few  weeks 
a  letter  was  received  from  the  Freeville  George  Junior  Republic, 
in  Freeville,  Xew  York,  from  the  boy,  saying  that  he  had  beaten 
his  way  back  to  this  other  Republic,  where  he  had  again  come 
in  contact  with  "Daddy"  George.  (You  may  not  know  that 
"Daddy"  George  is  the  founder  of  the  original  George  Junior 
Republic  and  largely  participated  in  the  formation  of  the  one 
here.)  The  boy  had  met  him  here.  That  boy  for  two  years  did 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  103 

well  in  his  studies  there  and  finally  announced  to  them  that  he 
was  coming  home,  and  I  assume  that  he  has  either  come  home 
or  will  be  home  very  shortly.  Let  me  say  to  you  that  in  this 
particular  case  as  in  many  others,  the  judge  has  to  face  the 
proposition  whether  or  not  the  boy  before  him  shall  become  a 
skillful  and  astute  criminal  or  whether  his  wisdom  can  supply 
a  plan  whereby  an  effort  can  be  made  to  direct  the  child  and 
divert  his  mentality  along  other  lines.  Now  this  particular  boy, 
it  seemed  to  me,  would  become,  if  he  was  not  changed,  a  very 
dangerous  criminal. 

I  had  in  my  pocket  before  I  came  tonight  a  letter  from  an- 
other boy.  His  story  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  connected 
with  the  juvenile  court.  I  will  tell  you  just  a  little  about  it.  It 
involves  several  escapes  from  our  detention  home  which,  as  you 
will  remember,  was  the  old  abandoned  county  jail.  In  one  in- 
stance, claiming  sickness,  he  had  taken  a  nail  and  worked  it  back 
and  forth  over  the  three-quarter  tongue  and  grooved  board  till 
he  succeeded  in  knocking  out  the  board,  slid  down  the  gas  pipe 
while  the  other  boys  were  going  upstairs  to  bed,  and  made  his 
way  as  far  as  San  Francisco.  There  he  was  arrested  and  placed 
in  the  detention  home,  and  they  wrote  to  us,  "For  heaven's  sake, 
come  and  get  him ;"  that  he  was  making  more  trouble  than  they 
ever  had  up  there.  This  boy  had  a  peculiarity  which  showed  his 
headstrong,  nervous  dispositon — of  having  fits.  They  were  not 
exactly  the  normal  fit,  but  they  were  so  nearly  simulated  that 
you  could  only  discover  the  deception  by  applying  a  pin  to  him. 
If  the  boy  were  in  a  genuine  fit,  he  would  be  indifferent  to  the 
prick  of  the  pin ;  but  if  it  were  simulated  you  could  get  a  response 
from  him.  This  boy  was  brought  back  and  again*  escaped  and 
made  his  way  to  Pasadena.  This  time  he  stole  a  revolver  and 
held  up  a  man  and  was  arrested  and  put  in  jail  there  and  attempt- 
ed suicide  by  crawling  under  one  of  these  beds  that  fold  down 
from  the  wall  like  a  kitchen  table.  It  was  an  iron  bed  and  very 
heavy.  He  got  under  and  jerked  the  legs  out  and  was  severely 
bruised.  He  was  returned  to  the  county  jail  and  there  he  stuck 
his  head  between  the  iron  door-jamb  and  the  jail  door  and  at- 
tempted suicide  in  that  way.  Finally,  he  escaped  again,  was 
returned,  and  sent  to  Whittier.  He  had  been  there  only  a  few 
months  when  the  superintendent  came  in  and  said  to  me,  "I  wish 
you  would  tell  me  how  to  get  rid  of  that  boy ;  he  is  the  worst 
boy  in  Whittier  and  I  am  afraid  we  will  punish  him  some  day 
and  he  will  take  a  fit  and  die,  and  we  will  be  blamed  for  it." 
This  boy  finally  escaped  from  Whittier.  He  got  leave  to  go 
up  into  the  tower  one  night  and  slid  down  from  what  corre- 


104  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

sponds  to  the  fifth  story,  coming  clown  the  water  pipe,  and  the 
next  we  heard  of  him  he  was  in  San  Francisco.  Finally  he  re- 
turned again  to  Los  Angeles.  The  superintendent  of  the  Whit- 
tier  State  School  said  he  didn't  want  him  back.  P>ut  he,  like 
many  another,  succeeded  in  getting  back  by  committing  another 
offense.  This  last  time  the  superintendent  put  him  in  charge 
of  a  broom  brigade  of  five  boys  who  were  to  sweep.  This  taste 
of  authority  seemed  to  be  the  turning  point  in  the  boy's  career. 
From  that  time  on  he  sided  in  with  the  authorities.  He  visited 
me  once  after  he  had  been  in  Whittier  for  some  time.  He  called 
at  the  house  and  we  were  talking  about  various  things.  He  was 
telling  about  his  life  out  there  and  the  stand  he  had  taken.  Fin- 
ally, he  said  so  much  about  his  conduct  that  I  bluntly  asked  him 
this  question:  "Percy,  are  you  a  Christian?"  He  said,  "You 
bet  your  life  I  am."  In  the  course  of  the  year  the  boy  was  pa- 
roled. He  took  a  course  in  stenography  and  typewriting  in  one 
of  the  correspondence  schools  of  the  east.  He  had  a  position 
in  one  of  the  best  offices  in  Los  Angeles  at  a  salary  approaching 
a  hundred  dollars  a  month.  And,  while  he  has  traveled  about 
a  good  deal,  his  last  place  was  in  Denver,  Colorado,  and  he  has 
been  making  good.  \Yhen  he  is  in  Los  Angeles  he  usually  drops  in 
to  my  Sunday  school  class  and  always  calls  me  his  "dear  friend." 
Now,  this  boy,  it  seems  to  me,  would  have  been  an  exceedingly 
dangerous  criminal  if  he  grew  up  without  change,  or  he  would 
be  a  very  useful  citizen,  and  we  are  very  glad  to  be  able  to  report 
that  the  latter  is  true. 

INSTITUTION    VS.    HOME. 

There  is  another  consideration  that  comes  up  in  dealing  with 
children  in  the  juvenile  court — the  institutional  life  as  against 
the  home  life.  This  question  has  been  much  spoken  of  by  those 
who  are  interested  in  connection  with  the  question  of  the  man- 
ner of  dealing  with  children,  and  I  have  had  a  little  experience 
myself  in  what  might  be  called  institutional  life,  as  a  graduate 
of  the  United  States  Naval  Academy,  where  for  four  years  we 
were  subjected  to  rigid  military  discipline.  Always  before  us 
stood  the  hope  that  we  would  be  officers  in  the  navy,  and  receiv- 
ing during  all  that  time  the  best  education  that  the  government 
could  give  to  its  young  men.  Notwithstanding  that.  I  have  some- 
times expressed  my  feeling  when  I  got  home  by  saying  that  I 
felt  like  "a  fish  out  of  water."  Heing  told  exactly  how  and  where 
to  put  my  shoes,  how  the  toes  must  be  pointed,  exactly  where 
each  item  of  clothing  must  be  hung,  exactly  what  sort  of  cloth- 
ing to  wear  on  every  occasion,  to  look  at  the  bulletin  board  to 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  105 

see  whether  the  uniform  was  a  raincoat,  instead  of  looking  at  the 
clouds  to  see  if  it  was  going  to  rain ;  to  listen  for  orders  of  the 
officer  in  charge  as  to  whether  to  wear  an  overcoat  and  drill 
gloves  or  go  without,  instead  of  looking  at  the  thermometer ;  to 
have  our  food  prepared  and  set  before  us  without  the  opportunity 
to  say  what  it  should  be,  or  having  any  participation  in  its  prep- 
aration or  any  responsibility  for  obtaining  it.  All  these  tended 
to  a  spirit  of  dependence.  I  speak  of  this  because  it  is  a  per- 
sonal experience.  Much  the  same  thing  must  be  true  in  every 
institution  where  a  large  number  of  children  are  gathered  to- 
gether. When  I  was  in  New  York  I  went  into  a  building  where 
on  one  floor,  in  one  dormitory,  some  five  hundred  children  slept, 
and  in  the  institution  there  were  altogether  some  twenty-seven 
hundred  children.  The  ideal  way  of  dealing  with  children  is,  of 
course,  to  deal  with  them  in  the  home  where  there  is  a  father 
and  a  mother.  And  I  may  say  to  you  that  if  there  were  more 
homes  where  there  are  both  father  and  mother,  there  would  be 
fewer  children  in  the  juvenile  court.  You  will  understand,  of 
course,  that  when  I  speak  of  the  juvenile  court  problems,  and 
when  I  speak  of  the  boys  and  girls  in  the  juvenile  court  and  say 
that  a  large  percentage  of  them  come  from  homes  in  which  there 
is  either  a  father  or  a  mother  missing  by  reason  of  divorce,  by 
reason  of  separation  or  by  reason  of  death,  that  I  do  not  refer 
to  boys  who  are  brought  into  court  for  coasting  on  the  sidewalk, 
playing  ball  in  the  street,  or  for  spitting  on  the  sidewalk,  or  using 
roller  skates,  or  speeding,  or  violating  those  ordinances  which 
are  general  in  their  terms  and  made  to  protect  the  public  against 
the  improper  use  of  the  streets. 

My  little  boy  of  five,  at  the  table  the  other  day,  asked  me : 
"Papa,  what  is  a  village?"  I  answered  the  question  by  asking 
him  the  question,  "What  do  you  think  a  village  it?"  For  as 
young  a  child  as  he,  I  thought  his  answer  was  very  pertinent. 
He  said,  "A  village  is  a  place  where  there  are  many  houses  and 
no  sidewalks,  and  you  can  play  in  any  old  place."  I  think  that 
we  are  in  a  village  tonight.  We  are  thinking,  though,  (when 
we  make  the  statement  concerning  defective  homes)  of  the  boy 
who  is  in  court  because  he  has  shown  a  deficient  character,  in- 
corrigible tendencies,  deliberate  disobedience  or  has  committed 
the  more  serious  offenses.  We  are  always  called  upon  to  bal- 
ance, in  determining  every  case,  the  institution  and  the  home. 
You  will  bear  in  mind  that  until  the  adoption  of  the  juvenile 
court  laws  the  court  had  no  discretion  to  place  the  child  who 
committed  a  crime  in  anything  but  an  institution.  It  was  bad 
that  the  institution  was  the  state  penitentiary.  When  I  visited 


106  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

the  penitentiaries  in  this  state  about  three  years  ago  I  found  that 
there  were  a  large  number  of  boys  there,  some  of  whom  were  as 
young  as  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  they  were  having  a  school 
for  these  boys  in  which  the  teachers  were  convicts.  It  is  no 
longer  possible  in  this  state  to  send  a  boy  under  fourteen  years 
of  age  to  the  penitentiary  unless  he  has  first  been  tried  in  a  re- 
form school  and  found  there  to  be  a  failure,  or  to  send  a  boy  or 
girl  under  sixteen  to  jail  until  he  has  been  tried  and  convicted 
of  crime.  Perhaps  one  of  the  greatest  advantages  of  the  new 
plan  of  dealing  with  children  is  that  we  can  allow  a  boy  or  girl 
to  remain  in  his  own  home,  even  though  that  home  may  be  de- 
fective. The  co-operation  of  the  probation  officer,  if  that  officer 
is  what  he  or  she  should  be,  not  only  reaches,  the  child  in  the 
home  and  guides  and  directs  and  assists  that  child,  but  if  wisdom 
is  used,  if  tact  is  used,  the  home  itself  incidentally  may  be  im- 
proved, and  the  parents  may  be  guided.  We  are  apt  to  think 
that  parents  know  what  is  best  for  their  children ;  that  they 
have  the  absolute  right  to  say  what  is  best.  The  fact  is  that 
very  many  parents  are  exceedingly  unwise  in  dealing  with  their 
children.  They  have  never  themselves  planned  long  ahead  for 
themselves,  and  they  do  not  do  so  for  children.  The  skillful  and 
tactful  and  helpful  suggestions  of  the  probation  officer  who  really 
desires  the  welfare  of  the  child  may  be  an  upbuilding  influence 
in  every  direction  in  the  home.  I  say  it  has  been  possible  in 
the  juvenile  court  to  replace  children  in  the  very  homes  which 
are  declared  unfit.  In  other  words,  we  have  sometimes  made  or- 
ders which  seemed  on  their  face  to  be  absurd.  We  have  de- 
clared a  home  unfit  and  yet,  notwithstanding  that  fact,  have  re- 
turned the  child  to  it.  But  it  has  been  with  this  supervising  in- 
fluence, and  so  the  home  has  been  raised  up  and  made  better. 
The  boy  who  is  adrift  and  is  brought  into  the  juvenile  court,  or 
the  girl,  is  often  placed  in  a  family  home.  If  the  girl  is  a  young 
lady,  often  a  position  by  which  she  can  at  least  earn  her  board 
and  go  to  school,  or  earn  something  more  than  her  board,  is  ob- 
tained. So  far  as  possible,  it  is  desired  in  those  cases  that  she 
shall  not  be  simply  a  servant  but  that  she  shall  be  one  of  the 
family  and  have  the  parental  control  and  discipline  of  the  father 
and  mother  in  the  home.  The  great  effort  of  all  connected  with 
the  juvenile  court  is  to  place  each  child  in  its  own  or  some  other 
suitable  family  home. 

TOO   MUCH   POWER. 

Let  me  say  a  word  here  concerning  the  power  of  the  juvenile 
court.  There  are  those  who  feel  that  there  is  too  much  power 
vested  in  the  juvenile  court.  Indeed,  some  of  those  who  con- 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  107 

tributed  in  the  effort  to  place  that  power  in  the  court  are  dis- 
satisfied with  the  fact  that  it  exists  there.  But  there  is  a  saving 
clause  in  the  juvenile  court  law  which  not  only  makes  it  constitu- 
tional but  also  makes  it  endurable  and  feasible  and  practical,  and 
that  is  this :  The  juvenile  court  as  such  can  have  no  power  to  take 
a  child  from  its  father  and  mother  without  the  consent  of  the 
father  and  mother,  unless  that  father  and  mother  are  unfit  to 
have  the  custody  of  the  child  or  incapable  of  exercising-  super- 
vision over  it.  Let  me  make  that  plain,  because  it  is  of  the  ut- 
most importance.  If  your  child  should  commit  a  burglary,  or 
should  commit  a  larceny,  or  should  commit  the  most  serious  of- 
fenses, and  be  brought  into  the  juvenile  court,  you  need  have 
absolutely  no  fear  that  that  child  would  be  taken  away  from  your 
home  unless  the  judge  was  able  to  say  that  you  were  unfit  to 
have  it  in  the  home.  But,  you  say,  "If  that  is  true,  how  shall  we 
deal  with  boys  who  commit  burglaries,  boys  who  commit  serious 
offenses  against  the  persons  of  others,  or  against  young  girls?" 
The  key  to  the  situation  is  this:  If  the  parent  is  unwilling  to 
consent  to  the  order  that  may  be  made  by  the  court,  and  if  the 
judge  after  hearing  all  the  evidence  should  feel  that  the  child 
should  be  placed  in  jail,  for  instance,  or  sent  to  the  reform  school 
or  sent  to  the  George  Junior  Republic  or  sent  to  the  Parental 
School,  and  if  after  you  have  talked  with  the  judge  and  the  pro- 
bation officer  and  the  officers  of  these  institutions  you  should 
still  feel  that  the  child  should  not  be  taken  from  you,  then  the 
only  way  in  which  that  could  be  accomplished  by  the  officers  of 
the  law  would  be  to  send  your  child  to  the  criminal  court  for 
trial,  where  the  child  would  be  tried  for  the  offense,  if  the  of- 
fense was  denied,  before  a  jury;  and  after  a  verdict  of  guilty  is 
had,  the  child  would  then  be  dealt  with  by  the  court,  still  un- 
der the  probation  plan,  if  the  judge  thought  desirable.  There 
has  been  but  one  case  in  the  history  of  the  juvenile  court  out  of 
the  thirty-five  hundred  children  and  out  of  some  ten  or  fifteen 
thousand  hearings  of  children  where  the  parents  have  refused 
to  consent  to  the  order  suggested  by  the  court,  and  that  case 
was  the  case  of  a  Chinese  boy.  It  would  be  interesting  to  tell 
you  something  about  that  case,  but  I  will  not  take  the  time,  be- 
cause there  are  some  other  things  that  I  wish  to  say  before  I 
close,  and  I  must  hasten  to  a  conclusion. 

What  are  the  agencies  peculiar  to  the  juvenile  court,  not 
connected  with  other  courts?  The  first  I  have  suggested  are 
the  probation  officers.  The  officers  really  are  to  act  as  guardians, 
as  teachers,  as  advisors,  as  supervisors  of  the  children  who  arc 
committed  to  their  care.  They  have  an  additional  duty  of  making 


108  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

investigations  before  trials  to  assist  the  judge  in  his  examina- 
tion of  the  witnesses  and  in  the  disposition  of  the  case.  There 
are  some  who  have  not  understood  altogether  this  function  of  the 
probation  officer,  and  who  have  thought  that  they  might  hear  evi- 
dence and  determine  facts  and  then  present  their  conclusions  to 
the  court.  This  is  not  the  law  and  could  not  be.  The  judge  must 
hear  the  evidence  and  pass  upon  the  case. 

THE  VOLUME  OF  WORK. 

To  show  you  the  growth  of  the  work  in  Los  Angeles  coun- 
ty, when  the  bill  was  first  passed  in  1903  there  was  provision 
only  for  volunteer  probation  officers,  to  be  paid,  if  at  all,  by  pri- 
vate subscription.  In  1905,  if  I  remember  correctly — as  early, 
certainly,  as  1907 — there  were  two  probation  officers  allowed  to 
the  juvenile  court  of  Los  Angeles  county  who  received  compensa- 
tion from  the  public  treasury.  This  was  true  in  no  other  county 
in  the  state.  In  1909  the  number  was  increased  to  seven,  and 
in  1911  the  number  was  increased  to  twenty. 

I  wish  to  give  you  in  a  moment  of  time  the  volume  of  the 
work  which  is  confided  now  to  these  officers,  and  I  will  say  that 
all  of  the  twenty  have  not  yet  been  provided  for.  There  are  now 
on  active  probation,  reporting  from  week  to  week  to  the  proba- 
tion officers,  1434  children.  When  I  tell  you  there  are  about 
250  children  in  Whittier  and  350  in  lone,  making  600  in  these 
institutions,  with  all  the  expense  and  paraphernalia  provided  in 
those  institutions,  and  that  there  are  three  times  as  many  children 
on  active  probation  in  Los  Angeles  county,  you  get  some  idea  of 
the  proportion  of  the  work.  There  are  now  on  active  adult  pro- 
bation 361  men  and  women.  This  is  more  than  one-third  of  the 
number  in  the  Folsom  penitentiary.  For  the  supervision  of  these 
1795  people — adults  and  children — there  are,  as  I  say,  these 
twenty  probation  officers. 

ECONOMY 

I  have  never  laid  very  strong  emphasis  upon  the  economical 
features  of  the  juvenile  plan  of  dealing  with  children,  except 
when  I  have  been  asking  the  legislature  to  make  some  changes 
in  the  law  and  to  give  us  these  probation  officers.  But  when.  I 
remind  you  that  the  expense  of  maintaining  these  1795  people 
in  institutions,  either  reform  schools  or  penitentiaries,  would  be 
$53850  a  month,  you  can  see  the  difference  between  the  plan 
with  which  we  are  now  dealing  and  the  old  plan.  The  total  sal- 
aries of  all  the  probation  officers  in  the  county,  even  the  increased 
list,  will  be  $23100  for  the  year,  and,  adding  the  expenses  and 


This  little  13-year-okl  mother,  whose  head  barely  reaches  the  top 
of  the  chair  hack,  is  a  ward  of  the  Juvenile  Court. 

"Can't  you  see  we  are  dealing  with  parents — future  parents,  in  the 
Juvenile  Court." 

See  pavre   109. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  109 

salaries  of  the  detention  home  and  parental  schools,  two  insti- 
tutions operated  by  the  county  for  the  betterment  of  childhood, 
we  have  a  total  annual  expense  of  $30648  as  against  the  monthly 
expense  of  $53850. 

There  have  been  in  the  juvenile  court  in  the  last  two  years 
nearly  five  thousand  hearings.  In  the  last  year,  three  thousand 
hearings.  And,  when  I  tell  you  that  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court 
has  not  only  heard  all  these  cases — an  average  of  more  than  ten 
cases  for  every  week  day — but  has  also  taken  the  same  assign- 
ment of  civil  business  as  the  other  judges,  you  can  realize  that 
he  has  not  had  the  opportunity  to  hold  receptions  for  every  club 
woman  that  has  come  up  to  interview  him  concerning  the  gen- 
eral welfare  of  humanity  and  the  question  of  probation  in  other 
states. 

WHAT  HAS  BEEN  ACCOMPLISHED? 

It  makes  me  feel  that  we  are  dealing  with  a  very  important 
period  in  the  life  of  children  when  I  reflect  that  the  first  girl,  a 
girl  whose  case  was  case  No.  1  in  the  juvenile  court,  has  been 
twice  married  and  has  two  children ;  when  I  see  these  girls  who 
have  been  before  the  juvenile  court  coming  in  with  their  babies 
on  their  arms  and  their  husbands  at  their  sides,  asking  the  judge 
to  see  what  beautiful  eyes  and  curly  hair  their  babes  have :  we 
feel  that  it  was  of  some  importance  to  the  girl  that  she  was  be- 
friended at  the  time  of  her  need ;  that  the  young  couple  have 
been  brought  to  peace  and  harmony  and  to  look  forward  with 
unflinching  and  unashamed  eyes  toward  the  future — we  feel  that 
something  has  been  accomplished. 

It  is  a  favorite  expression  of  some  in  talking  of  child  life, 
"The  parents  are  the  ones  that  ought  to  be  brought  into  the 
juvenile  court,  and  not  the  children ;  it  is  not  the  fault  of  the 
children  but  the  fault  of  the  parents."  How  short-sighted !  Why 
does  it  not  occur  to  those  who  make  this  remark  that  when  we 
have  the  children  in  the  juvenile  court  we  have  the  parents — 
to  be?  When  we  were  teaching  this  girl  to  be  decent  and  right, 
to  work,  to  avoid  theatrical  clothes  and  roller-skating  rinks  and 
public  dances  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  that  when  she  would 
be  taught  her  lesson,  we  were  teaching  the  mother  of  that  baby 
— to  be.  That  is  exactly  what  is  being  done  in  the  juvenile  court, 
just  as  it  is  true  in  your  schools.  You  are  teaching  the  mothers 
and  fathers  of  tomorrow,  and  tomorrow  is  so  close  upon  us  that 
we  might  say  today.  So,  in  this  organization  here,  you  parents 
and  teachers  are  gathering  together  to  study  the  welfare  of  the 
child,  which  means  the  welfare  of  the  father  and  mother  of  the 
future. 


110  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


CONTRIBUTORY   CASES. 

Rut  in  a  different  sense  is  it  true  in  the  juvenile  court,  since 
by  reason  of  the  amendments  to  the  statutes  we  are  now  taking 
up  cases  which  are  called  contributory  cases.  The  provisions 
of  this  law  I  will  not  discuss  in  detail,  for  the  reason  that  many  of 
its  provisions  are  now  under  consideration — some  by  me  and 
others  by  other  courts — and  so  it  would  be  improper  for  me  to 
discuss  them  in  detail.  But  I  can  say  to  you  in  a  general  way 
that  the  law  provides  that  anyone  who  contributes  by  any  act 
to  the  dependency  or  delinquency  of  a  child  is  guilty  of  the 
crime  of  a  misdemeanor  and  can  be  tried  in  the  juvenile  court 
with  or  without  a  jury  as  he  may  demand. 

Let  me  show  you  what  this  means.  I  shall  have  to  confess 
that  in  the  early  days  of  the  juvenile  court  I  used  to  say  that  I 
hadn't  much  sympathy  for  the  one  who  kept  crying  that  we 
should  go  after  the  parents, — that  they  were  to  blame.  For  it 
would  seem  to  me  as  I  have  looked  into  the  eyes  of  these  tearful 
mothers  and  anxious  fathers  that  they  were  doing  all  they  could 
within  their  limitations  to  care  for  their  children.  There  was 
the  washerwoman  with  eight  children,  who  was  trying  to  earn  a 
living  by  washing  for  others  during  the  week  and  for  herself  on 
Sunday ;  there  was  the  widowed  mother  left  with  many  to  sup- 
port ;  there  was  the  father  left  alone  by  the  death  of  the  wife 
with  boys  and  girls  to  look  after  and  not  the  ability  to  do  it.  But 
this  law  was  passed,  and  it  has  developed  that  there  are  many 
cases  where  parents  and  others  are  directly  responsible  for  the 
misconduct  or  the  dependency  of  children.  I  could  give  you, 
if  there  were  not  so  many  small  children  here,  many  instances 
which  would  not  only  shock  you  and  startle  you,  but  give  you 
some  insight  into  what  we  are  doing.  The  holy  name  of  mother 
which  I  adore  with  all  my  being  is  sometimes  profaned  by  those 
who  directly  and  intentional}-  contribute  to  misconduct  to  an 
extreme  degree  of  their  own  girls.  The  drunkenness  of  the 
father,  yes.  and  the  drunkenness  of  the  mother  in  more  than  one 
case,  has  resulted  in  some  cases  in  both  father  and  mother  being 
brought  before  the  court  charged  with  being  habitual  drunkards, 
and  confessing  that  fault.  I  thank  God  that  many  of  these  peo- 
ple, under  the  kindly  supervision  of  the  probation  officers,  and 
the  certainty  of  a  jail  experience  if  there  was  not  a  change,  have 
turned  from  their  drunkenness  and  have  made  good  with  the 
children.  In  many  instances,  of  course,  they  have  fallen  and 
have  gone  into  punishment,  and  by  enforced  abstinence  from 
liquor  have  so  built  up  their  systems  that  when  released  they 
were  able  to  keep  from  the  habit.  A  court  of  honor?  \Yell,  yes. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  111 

Thank  God  there  is  honor  in  the  heart  of  every  human  being, 
and  we  may  have  a  touchstone  which  may  flash  into  light  and 
brighten  lives.  But,  really,  the  juvenile  court  is  a  "court  of 
trouble" — troubled  fathers  and  mothers,  weeping  children — boys 
and  girls — and  all  that  we  ask  as  officers  of  the  court  is  that 
God  will  give  us  wisdom  not  to  add  to  the  trouble,  but,  if  pos- 
sible, to  do  a  little  to  add  to  the  joy  of  the  home  and  to  the 
future  of  this  land  that  we  have  learned  so  much  to  love. 


Addresses  to  Boys  by   the  Governor 
and  Three  Judges  of  Juvenile  Courts 

Addresses  delivered  by  the  Governor,  and  the  judges  of  the 
juvenile  courts  of  San  Francisco,  Los  Angeles  and  Sacra- 
mento on  the  occasion  of  the  dedication  of  the  Assembly 
Hall  built  by  the  boys  of  the  Preston  State  School,  July 
11,  1908. 

Note. — These  addresses  are  herewith  reprinted  as  showing 
the  spirit  of  the  state  of  California  in  dealing  with  her  boys,  and 
particularly  as  showing  to  probation  officers  the  kind  of  influence 
sought  to  be  thrown  around  boys  at  that  institution. 

HIS  EXCELLENCY,  JAMES  N.  GILLETT,  GOVERNOR  OF 
CALIFORNIA. 

Mr.  President,  Cadets  of  Preston  School  and  Fellow  citizens: 

I  have  looked  forward  with  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  to  the 
time  when  I  could  come  to  the  Preston  School  and  participate  in 
these  exercises.  I  remember  during  the  last  session  of  the  legisla- 
ture one  of  your  trustees  coming  to  me  and  telling  me  they  desired 
an  appropriation  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  with  which  to  con- 
struct an  assembly  hall  and  gymnasium  for  the  boys  of  this 
school,  and  telling  me  what  a  fine  building  they  proposed  to 
erect,  and  telling  me  about  you  boys  and  how  industrious  you 
were  and  how  attentive  to  your  duties  and  how  much  you  de- 
sired to  help  build  this  fine  building,  and  I  said  to  him  :  "You 
can  have  whatever  money  you  need  to  build,  for  the  boys  of  this 
school,  a  building  of  the  kind  you  have  described."  I  saw  a  little 
model  which  you  had  prepared  and  which  was  exhibited  at  the 
last  State  Fair.  It  gave  me  some  idea  of  the  work  which  you 
proposed  to  do,  but  I  never  realized  how  fine  a  building  it  was 
until  today,  when  I  came  upon  the  grounds  and  I  saw  it  standing 
here,  a  fully  completed  building  with  the  stars  and  stripes  wav- 
ing over  it. 

Hoys,  you  are  to  be  highly  complimented  for  what  you  have 
done.  You  have  built  a  building  which  would  be  a  credit  to 
any  city  or  institution.  You  have  built  it,  as  Mr.  Dunton  has 
said,  out  of  the  raw  material,  it  is  the  work  of  your  hands,  and 
of  those  who  have  assisted  you.  You  have  been,  I  know,  filled 
with  pride  in  the  construction  of  this  building  from  the  time  you 
first  broke  the  ground,  until  you  put  up  the  flagstaff  and  raised 
the  stars  and  stripes.  I  know  the  interest  you  must  have  taken 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  113 

in  this  work  and  I  know  today  you  are  much  interested  in  these 
exercises  and  we  have  all  gathered  here  to  compliment  you  for 
the  good  work  you  have  done,  and  I  hope  and  trust  that  your 
good  work  will  not  stop  here  at  the  completion  of  this  building, 
and  as  long  as  you  remain  cadets  here,  you  will  continue  to  dis- 
charge your  duties  and  help  to  build  up  the  institution. 

Every  person  in  the  State  of  California  is  your  friend.  This 
big  State  of  ours  has  a  deep  feeling  of  pride  in  its  boys.  We 
want  to  see  you  all  become  good  citizens.  We  want  to  see  you, 
whenever  you  leave  this  institution,  to  go  out  in  the  world  and 
fill  an  honest  place,  and  to  be  engaged  in  noble  work  and  hon- 
orable occupation. 

We  have  broad  fields  to  cultivate,  large  cities  to  build,  homes 
to  make  everywhere,  and  great  mines  to  develop,  and  we  need 
bright  young  men,  we  need  just  such  boys  as  have  built  this 
magnificent  building,  and  when  you  go  out  and  become  men 
and  assume  the  responsibilities  of  citizenship  and  high  life, 
what  we  want  you  to  have  from  this  school,  is  a  proper  feeling 
and  regard  for  the  State,  for  its  laws  and  for  everything  which 
stands  for  right  and  stands  for  everything  that  is  ennobling  and 
good.  We  know  you  will  do  so,  boys,  and  we  have  confidence 
in  you,  and  we  hope  that  the  cadets  of  Preston  School  will  not 
only  build  buildings  here,  but  that  the  good  results  of  your 
handiwork  will  be  seen  all  over  the  State,  and  I  know  every  one 
of  you  who  has  helped  to  build  this  building  will  look  backward 
to  the  time  when  you  were  here  and  will  point  your  finger  with 
pride  to  the  great  work  done  here.  I  want  you  all  to  be  good 
builders.  We  are  all  building,  men  have  always  been  builders, 
engaged  in  building  cities,  engaged  in  building  railroads,  engag- 
ed in  building  governments,  engaged  in  building  high  character 
in  life,  and  you  are  builders.  How  may  boys  here  today  are 
proud  of  this  great  building  which  you  have  constructed? 
Raise  your  hands  high.  (Applause.)  You  are  all  proud  of  it 
and  so  are  we,  but  I  want  to  tell  you  something,  boys:  that  this 
building,  beautiful  as  it  is,  strong  and  firm  as  it  is,  is  not  com- 
pared to  the  building  of  a  high  character  and  a  good  name. 
You  are  proud  of  the  building  you  have  built,  but  you  have  in 
your  own  keeping  the  building  of  your  own  manhood,  your  own 
boyhood,  which  is  of  greater  importance  and  more  magnificent 
and  beautiful  than  any  building  which  man's  hands  can  con- 
struct, and  we  know  that  you  boys  feel  and  appreciate  that. 

Now  there  are  a  great  many  to  speak  here  today.  You 
have  your  judges  who  wish  to  talk  to  you.  As  I  said,  T  am 
proud  of  the  opportunity  to  be  here  with  you  boys  and  I  hope  I 


114  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

can  come  again.  I  know  of  the  good  work  you  can  do  by  the 
good  reports  that  come  to  me,  of  the  good  reports  that  go  out 
through  the  State,  and  I  want  the  good  work  to  continue.  I 
want  the  Preston  School  of  Industry  to  stand  at  the  head  of  all 
schools  of  industry  in  the  United  States. 

The  man  who  started  this  school  first,  who  gave  to  it  his 
best  efforts,  wanted  to  build  a  home  for  the  boys  of  this  State 
who  had  no  homes,  who  loved  boys  dearly,  whose  heart  went 
out  to  them  every  time,  Senator  Preston,  who  built  this  school. 
Now  if  he  were  living  today,  I  know  he  would  be  proud  of  the 
school  and  the  young  men  here  in  it,  learning  trades  and  getting 
an  education.  And  the  little  boys  that  sit  here  in  front  of  me, 
I  am  fond  of  little  boys,  and  I  have  a  little  boy  of  my  own  at 
home,  about  the  size  of  this  little  fellow  on  the  end,  you  are 
growing  up  here  with  good  friends  and  are  well  cared  for,  and 
it  will  not  be  very  long  before  you  will  be  big  boys  and  you  will 
not  much  sooner  be  big  boys,  than  you  will  be  young  men,  and 
I  want  you  little  boys,  as  you  grow  up,  to  obey  all  the  com- 
mands and  to  observe  all  the  rules,  to  treat  each  other  nicely,  to 
be  courteous  to  the  officers  and  teachers,  and  when  you  grow 
up,  everybody  will  be  proud  of  you  and  you  will  fill  a  nice  place 
in  the  history  of  this  big  State  of  ours,  and  some  day  you  may 
gather  here  at  the  Preston  School  of  Industry,  as  we  are  here 
today,  and  have  little  boys  in  front  of  you  as  I  have  today,  and 
you  will  be  proud  of  the  fact  that  you  had  your  start  in  life,  your 
kindest  friends,  while  you  were  cadets  of  the  school.  Boys,  it 
is  the  hope  of  the  Governor  of  the  State  that  you  will  be  good 
men.  I  would  rather  you  would  be  good  men  than  have  any- 
thing else  happen  to  you,  because  that  means  you  will  be  good 
citizens  and  all  your  lives  you  will  be  happy. 

It  is  the  wish  of  the  Governor  of  the  State  that  the  boys 
who  are  being  educated  at  the  State's  expense,  shall  turn  out 
to  be  the  good  boys  of  this  State  and  always  defending  its  insti- 
tutions. 

I  thank  you  kindly. 

HON.  FRANK  J.  MURASKY,  JUDGE  OF  THE  JUVENILE  COURT, 
SAN  FRANCISCO. 

Your  excellency,  boys : 

You  have  already  caught  the  thought  that  is  in  the  minds 
of  us  all  today.  It  sprang  from  the  lips  of  the  first  speaker  and 
it  has  been  reiterated  by  all  who  came  after,  the  great  achieve- 
ment of  you  boys  in  constructing,  by  your  own  hands,  by  your 
own  labor,  this  magnificent  building. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  115 

The  State  of  California  is  engaged  in  a  great  many  enter- 
prises. The  Governor  is  now  interested  in  a  project  by  which 
he  hopes  to  raise,  as  we  see  by  the  newspapers,  some  eighteen 
million  dollars  for  the  purpose  of  construction  and  re-construct- 
ing roadways  throughout  the  State,  but  of  all  the  work  in  which 
the  people  are  engaged,  or  of  all  the  work  in  which  the  Execu- 
tive is  employed,  in  all  the  work  in  which  the  machinery  of 
government  is  moving,  none  is  more  important,  aye,  none  is  so 
important  as  the  making  and  conserving  of  the  manhood  of  the 
State  of  California. 

Mr.  Dunton  told  you  about  the  assembling  of  this  raw 
material  from  the  various  sections  of  this  State  and  country.  He 
told  you  how  some  of  it  had  been  taken  from  the  earth  and 
other  from  the  riverbed  and  the  other  from  the  trees.  You, 
assembled  here  today,  are  elements  in  the  makeup  of  the  citi- 
zenship of  California.  You  are  the  raw  material,  soon  to  be  sent 
out  of  this  institution  into  the  ranks  of  the  thousands  in  your 
State,  and  with  them  to  make  up  the  citizenship  of  this  com- 
monwealth. 

Now,  boys,  a  word  to  you.  When  you  leave,  you  will  leave 
behind  this  building,  and  take  with  you  only  a  memory  of  what 
has  been  done  for  you  here.  These  gentlemen,  coming  with  the 
honors  of  high  office  upon  them,  and  from  distant  parts  of  the 
State,  and  from  busy  avocations  of  life,  have  told  you  how 
sincere  and  how  earnest  they  are  in  your  behalf.  It  is  because, 
as  I  have  said,  there  is  nothing  so  important  in  all  tliese  gentle- 
men have  to  do,  as  the  work  in  which  the  State  is  engaged  right 
here  with  your  personalities.  (Applause.) 

A  few  years  ago  there  died  a  very  popular  Scottish  writer  by 
the  name  of  Dr.  McLaren.  He  wrote  a  little  book  of  tales  called, 
"Tales  of  the  Bonnie  Brier  Bush,"  and  in  one  of  them  he  tells  a 
pathetic  little  story  of  some  unfortunate  characters  without  any 
home.  A  doctor,  traveling  along  the  roadway  at  the  close  of 
day,  meets  a  little  girl  about  fourteen  years  of  age,  bearing  upon 
her  back  a  boy  almost  her  own  size ;  and  the  doctor  seeing 
her  struggling  along,  stops  her  and  says:  "\Yhy,  my  little  lass,  is 
he  nae  heavy?"  and  the  little  girl  replies:  "Why,  doctor,  he  is 
nae  heavy,  he  is  my  brother."  And  so,  boys,  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia has  come  to  you  today,  the  State  of  California  has  put 
upon  its  shoulders  many  burdens  in  your  behalf.  The  people 
in  this  commonwealth  are  taxing  themselves  in  your  interests, 
but  whatever  they  do,  however  great  it  may  be,  however  great 
the  labor  given  therefor  in  your  behalf,  how  much  the  money, 
how  much  the  exertion,  they  are  all  put  forward  faithfully, 


116  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

fervently,  and  gladly,  because  we  recognize  that  you  are  our 
children.  You  are  our  boys.  You  are  the  boys  of  California. 
In  the  language  of  the  street,  and  the  language  which  you  know, 
boys,  after  you  reflect  awhile  and  listen  to  all  this  talk  which 
has  been  brought  out  in  praise  of  you,  you  may  feel  like  saying: 
"They  are  giving  us  the  con,"  but  I  was  present  when  the  Gov- 
ernor of  this  State  was  nominated  for  the  high  office  that  he 
holds,  and  there  in  the  presence  of  thousands  who  were  showing 
him  the  greatest  acclaim  and  honor,  in  what  must  have  been 
one  of  the  happiest  moments  of  his  life,  his  heart  could  not  have 
been  fuller,  could  not  have  been  purer,  could  not  have  been 
more  sincere  than  I  know  it  is  at  this  moment. 

That  is  why,  over  all  others,  you  took  Mr.  Dunton  into  your 
arms.  We  who  know  him  know  why,  because  he  knows  you 
and  you  know  him,  and  you  know  he  is  your  friend.  You  know 
it  all  the  time,  in  school  and  out,  as  the  story  goes,  on  the  street 
and  everywhere  else ;  in  the  train  coming  up  it  was  "Preston 
boys"  all  the  time,  and  I  suppose  we  shall  have  it  on  the  train 
going  back.  I  heard  him  in  a  meeting  in  San  Francisco,  not 
long  ago,  make  a  speech,  talking  about  this  institution,  in  which 
he  said,  were  it  necessary  he  would  be  glad  to  have  one  of  his 
own  boys  go  here  to  the  school ;  he  knew  he  would  receive 
good  and  proper  training  right  here  in  Preston  School. 

Now,  don't  be  afraid  to  go  out  into  the  world,  boys.  At 
most  you  have  only  sixty  or  seventy  years  more  to  live  and  you 
are  going  to  spend  only  a  small  portion  of  it  here.  (Applause.) 
What  are  two,  three,  four  or  five  years  to  sixty  or  seventy? 
(Applause.)  The  professor  says  you  have  taken  the  hint. 
(Applause.)  TUit  seriously,  boys,  the  most  you  can  make  of  life 
is  a  life.  We  are  to  be  here  but  once  and  it  is  a  great  and  glori- 
ous world  to  live  in.  It  is  a  fine  old  world  for  all  you  may  hear 
it  abused.  It  is  a  fine,  good  old  world  and  it  is  a  fine  old  life  we 
have  to  live.  What  is  the  use  of  throwing  it  away?  You  are 
never  coming  back!  You  are  on  the  way  and  you  are  never 
coming  back!  While  you  are  here  why  not  make  the  best  of  it? 
Why  not  get  all  there  is  out  of  it?  Why  not  open  the  oyster 
and  take  all  the  juice?  Take  all  life  can  give  you.  You  can 
only  get  it  by  being  true  to  yourselves  and  being  straight  with 
yourselves,  fellows.  P>e  straight  with  yourselves  and  you  will 
be  straight  with  everybody  else;  straight  to  your  home  and 
straight  to  your  father  and  your  mother,  straight  to  these  friends 
and  straight  to  the  State  of  California,  and  then  you  will  know 
what  it  is  to  live  in  the  sunshine  of  decency  and  self-respect  and 
manhood. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  117 


Wouldn't  you  like  to  be  here  as  the  Governor  of  California? 
Why  can't  you?  There  is  not  a  boy  in  this  room  today  that 
can  give  me  a  reason  why  he  can  not  be  a  Governor  of  Cali- 
fornia. Governor  Gillett  has  said  you  may  possibly  some  day 
come  back  here  and  see  other  boys  here.  I  say  it  ought  to 
be  the  great  ambition  of  the  Preston  School  to  see  one  of  its 
boys  come  back  here  and  stand  on  this  platform  as  Governor  of 
the  State  of  California.  (Applause.)  Why  can't  you  do  it? 
You  can  do  anything,  boys,  that  you  want  to  do.  All  you  have 
to  say  in  this  world,  to  get  anything  you  want,  I  do  not  care  what 
it  is,  it  is  the  experience  of  thousands  of  years  and  of  races  of 
people,  it  is  the  experience  of  men  everywhere,  all  you  have  to 
do  when  you  want  a  thing,  is  to  say,  "I  will,"  "I  will."  It  is  the 
will  that  makes  the  man,  makes  him  what  he  is. 

You  have  all  heard  of  old  Napoleon,  who  about  owned  the 
whole  world  at  one  time,  not  many  years  ago,  when  he  con- 
quered all  Europe,  and  the  people  thought  he  might  slop  over 
and  go  off  the  earth  somewhere  seeking  new  worlds,  because 
there  were  no  more  countries  to  conquer ;  how  he  became  the 
greatest  French  Emperor  and  how  he  gave  kingdoms  away,  and 
put  his  brothers  and  sisters  and  friends  upon  the  thrones  of 
Europe.  Only  the  other  day  King  Oscar  of  Sweden  died,  and 
now  his  son  sits  upon  his  throne.  King  Oscar,  one  of  the  reign- 
ing monarchs  of  Sweden,  was  the  descendant  of  a  private  in 
Napoleon's  army,  Marshal  Bernadotte,  as  he  afterwards  became. 
The  Marshals  in  those  days  corresponded  to  our  generals,  and 
carried  batons,  instruments  like  a  long  brass  telescope,  to  be 
used  for  carrying  papers,  etc.  Bernadotte  was  ambitious,  and 
he  said:  "Some  day  I  shall  be  a  Marshal  of  France,  a  Marshal 
of  France."  What  did  he  mean?  He  meant  that  his  will  power 
directed  his  heart  and  energy  upon  the  thing  that  he  wanted  to 
do,  so  that  after  a  while  he  became  a  good  soldier  and  officer, 
and  became  a  Marshal  of  France.  He  attracted  Napoleon's 
attention,  and  when  Napoleon  was  giving  away  kingdoms  he 
gave  him  one,  and  his  descendants  became  rulers  of  empires 
and  thrones. 

Now  you  can  do  it,  boys.  Don't  build  castles  in  the  air,  we 
don't  want  you  to  do  that,  and  on  the  other  hand  don't  despair, 
just  work  on,  work  on,  and  keep  your  mind  fixed  somewhere. 
As  luiierson  said:  "Hitch  your  wagon  to  a  star."  Aim  high, 
and  keep  at  it.  Some  day  some  of  you  may  be  Governor  of 
the  State  of  California,  but  if  you  are  not,  if  you  just  go  out  and 
back  to  your  homes  and  back  to  your  friends  and  back  to  your- 
selves, now  that  you  are  good  men  and  straight  men,  we  will 


118  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

be  proud  of  you.  I  do  not  mean  goody-goody  men,  but  the 
men  who  do  the  world's  work ;  not  as  Roosevelt  says,  "molly- 
coddle," but  good,  straight,  decent  men. 

We  know  what  Mr.  Dunton  thinks  and  feels  about  you,  and 
I  know  I  can  speak  for  the  other  judges  of  the  juvenile  court 
when  I  say  that  the  best  moments  of  our  lives,  in  our  judicial 
work,  when  we  feel  we  are  not  working  in  vain  is  when  we 
receive  some  word  from  the  boys  of  Preston  School  and  when 
it  comes  headed  as  yours  come,  "Dear  friend." 

Now  we  will  all  try  to  make  good  with  you.  We  cannot 
always  do  what  you  ask  us  to  do,  and  sometimes  we  cannot 
keep  the  promises  we  make,  but  when  we  make  them  they  are 
made  in  good  faith,  and  whatever  happens,  these  gentlemen  are 
friends  of  yours,  and  their  interest  in  you  will  follow  you  wher- 
ever you  go,  boys  of  Preston  School. 

HON.  CURTIS  D.  WILBUR,  JUDGE  OF  THE  JUVENILE  COURT, 

LOS  ANGELES. 

I  want  to  speak  to  the  boys  that  I  know  and  to  the  boys  with 
whom  I  am  getting  acquainted. 

I  have  been  introduced  to  you  as  from  the  "sunny  south- 
land," but  I  want  to  say  that  I  am  convinced  that  we  are  not 
the  whole  thing  in  that  line. 

Boys,  I  have  been  looking  this  building  over  and  I  have  ob- 
served that  it  has  been  well  constructed.  I  want  to  say  that  I 
think  that  it  is  all  right  and  I  am  glad  to  have  the  privilege  of 
standing  before  you  this  afternoon,  in  this  beautiful  building 
which  you  will  always  own,  because  you  helped  to  make  it.  I 
want  to  remind  you,  however,  that  this  building  stands  for 
more  than  is  apparent  on  the  surface :  It  stands  for  progress. 
The  other  day  I  picked  up  a  magazine  which  gave  an  account 
of  the  punishment  which  they  used  to  inflict  for  crime,  and  the 
first  picture  was  of  a  great  kettle  of  boiling  oil,  in  which  there 
were  four  or  five  men  and  boys.  There  was  a  fire  under  this  ket- 
tle and  men  standing  alongside  and  taking  this  hot  oil  up,  and 
pouring  it  over  the  men  who  were  in  this  kettle,  being  boiled 
alive ;  and  that  was  less  than  two  hundred  years  ago. 

It  is  only  about  twenty-five  years  since  the  State  of  Califor- 
nia came  to  itself  and  resolved  that  no  more  boys  should  be 
sent  to  penal  institutions,  the  State  prisons,  but  should  be  sent 
to  schools  where  they  should  learn'  to  do  right.  America  has 
advanced  in  this  as  in  all  other  lines.  I  want  to  say  to  you  that 
England,  Austria,  France,  Hungary,  Russia  and  some  other 
foreign  countries,  including  Sweden  and  Norway,  have  sent 
men  to  this  country  to  find  out  how  we  were  solving  this  ques- 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  119 

tion,  and  they  are  carrying  back  to  their  countries  the  good 
news.  They  are  establishing  in  these  foreign  countries  juvenile 
courts  patterned  after  those  which  they  have  seen  in  this  coun- 
try and  they  have  learned,  as  we  have,  that  it  is  our  duty  not  to 
hinder  but  to  help. 

We  have  been  very  fond,  in  our  scientific  endeavors,  of 
classifying  all  sorts  of  things,  mineral,  vegetable  and  animal. 
Our  scientists  will  take  a  six-legged  bug  and  give  it  a  name,  and 
if  it  has  four  legs  it  has  an  entirely  different  name,  and  we  who 
have  been  dealing  with  men  have  also  classified  them.  Some- 
times we  have  spoken  of  two  classes,  the  criminal  class,  and  the 
other  class.  We  have  spoken  of  the  good  boys  and  the  bad. 
I  want  to  ask  you,  boys,  if  you  ever  saw  a  boy  so  bad  that  there 
was  not  some  good  in  him ;  and  if  you  ever  saw  a  boy  so  good 
that  there  was  not  some  bad  in  him.  We  who  are  older,  and 
are  dealing  with  these  questions,  are  coming  to  realize  that  there 
is  a  great  deal  of  truth  in  the  saying:  "that  there  is  so  much 
bad  in  the  best  of  us,  and  so  much  good  in  the  worst  of  us,  that 
it  scarcely  behooves  the  most  of  us  to  talk  about  the  rest  of  us." 
(Applause.)  Jesus  Christ  expressed  that  in  a  very  simple  sen- 
tence, "Judge  not  that  ye  be  not  judged." 

I  suppose  that  one  of  the  worst  men  that  ever  lived  is  now 
confined  in  a  northern  penitentiary.  I  hesitate  to  mention  his 
name,  but  in  order  that  I  may  not  be  misunderstood  I  will :  his 
name  is  Harry  Orchard,  a  man  who  committed  murder  by 
wholesale,  who  thought  nothing  of  the  life  of  another  man  or 
his  family,  and  yet  there  was  still  enough  good  in  that  man,  so 
that  when  the  little  flame  left  in  his  heart  was  fanned  by  those 
who  came  in  contact  with  him,  he  began  to  see  the  enormity  of 
his  crimes.  He  made  reparation  so  far  as  he  could,  and  today 
we  have  the  singular  spectacle  of  this  man  begging  that  he 
might  be  hanged,  saying  that  his  sins  had  been  so  great,  that  in 
no  other  way  could  he  atone  for  them.  So  I  repeat,  that  there 
is  good  in  every  heart,  and  the  purpose  of  this  institution  is  to 
bring  out  the  good  and  to  subdue  the  evil. 

If  I  were  to  undertake  to  classify  men  I  would  not  classify 
them  as  good  and  bad,  as  brilliant  or  ignorant,  but  I  would  di- 
vide them  into  two  classes,  men  who  seek  to  know  the  right  and 
to  do  it  and  those  who  do  not,  and  I  say  to  you  that  however 
much  you  may  learn  of  any  trade,  however  brilliant  you  may 
become  intellectually,  however  successful  you  can  become  in 
acquiring  wealth  or  station,  if  you  have  not  here  learned  a  les- 
son, that  the  thing  for  you  to  do  is  simply  to  seek  the  right  and 
having  found  it,  to  do  it,  then  this  institution,  Mr.  President,  has 


120  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

failed  of  its  great  purpose ;  but  I  have  great  cause  to  believe, 
not  only  as  I  see  you,  but  from  the  letters  I  have  received  from 
the  boys  who  have  known  me  in  the  past,  that  the  one  great 
principle  which  has  become  established  in  their  hearts  here,  has 
been  that  they  should  do  right.  I  could  name  some  of  the  boys 
who  have  written  me  so  and  I  believe  it  is  true.  It  is  not  easy 
to  do  right ;  it  is  not  easy,  it  is  hard. 

Mr.  George,  the  founder  of  the  George  Junior  Republic, 
that  most  remarkable  institution  in  which  boys  have  a  govern- 
ment of  their  own,  elect  their  own  officers  and  carry  on  their 
own  form  of  government,  whose  principle  is,  "nothing  without 
labor,"  said  a  young  man  came  to  him  once,  a  young  man 
who  had  been  in  the  penitentiary  and  had  been  released.  He 
came  to  Mr.  George  and  said :  "Mr.  George,  I  have  decided  to 
take  up  burglary  as  a  profession."  When  Mr.  George  was  tell- 
ing this  story  a  listener  asked  him  why  the  young  man  had  gone 
to  him  with  his  decision,  (laughter),  but  Mr.  George  was  known 
as  a  friend  of  the  boys  and  this  boy  who  had  made  this  reso- 
lution thought  he  would  talk  it  over.  Mr.  George  discussed  the 
matter  with  the  boy  and  said :  "You  ought  to  try  to  be  good," 
and  the  boy  said :  "Why,  it's  dead  easy  to  be  good.  I  want  to  do 
something  hard."  Mr.  George  said  he  tried  to  show  him  how 
hard  it  is  to  be  good,  and  finally  the  fellow  said :  "Well,  if  it's 
as  hard  as  that  to  be  good  I  guess  I'll  tackle  it."  (Applause.) 
Boys,  it  is  a  wonderful  story  and  I  am  hardly  able  to  believe  it 
myself,  except  as  I  had  the  word  of  Mr.  George  that  that  boy, 
who  could  barely  read  and  write,  in  less  than  three  years  pre- 
pared himself  for  college.  He  became  as  strong  for  the  right 
as  he  had  been  for  the  opposite.  I  am  sorry  to  say,  however, 
that  he  worked  so  hard  that  he  was  stricken  by  brain  fever  and 
did  not  live  to  complete  the  plans  which  he  had  made. 

It  has  been  suggested  to  you  as  we  have  looked  at  this 
building  that  there  were  some  lessons  to  be  learned  therefrom. 
The  first  is  the  lesson  you  find  in  the  very  early  chapters  of  this 
book  [holding  up  the  Bible],  and  I  think,  judging  by  the  situa- 
tion today  that  you  must  have  learned  that  lesson.  That  is  that 
you  "shall  earn  your  bread  by  the  sweat  of  your  brow." 

I  want  to  emphasize  to  you,  however,  another  lesson,  that  is 
the  lesson  of  character  building,  which  has  been  referred  to 
here  this  afternoon.  I  want  you  to  remember  that  you  took  the 
sand  and  cement,  mixed  it,  made  these  blocks,  and  by  building 
one  upon  another  finally  completed  this  building.  It  was  not 
done  in  a  moment,  nor  in  a  day,  but  day  after  day  and  week 
after  week  you  labored  and  brought  together  this  material. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  121 

That  is  exactly  the  way  in  which  your  character  must  be  build- 
ed,  and  my  character  and  the  character  of  these  gentlemen  on 
the  platform.  We  are  all  engaged  in  that  great  endeavor  to  the 
end,  that  when  we  have  surrendered  this  life,  there  may  be 
something  to  launch  into  a  better  life,  a  character  worthy  of  the 
future  life. 

I  want  to  point  out  to  you  the  contrary  of  what  I  have  been 
saying.  Do  you  know  that  if  a  few  boxes  of  dynamite  were 
brought  in  here  and  placed  on  this  floor  and  were  exploded,  this 
building  would  be  blown  to  atoms,  and  every  one  of  us  and  the 
time  that  went  into  the  formation  of  your  characters  and  this 
edifice  would  go  out  like  that!  [Snapping  fingers.]  While  it 
is  not  ordinarily  true  that  a  man  in  one  instant  ruins  that  which 
he  has  labored  so  long  to  produce,  sometimes  it  is  true  that 
with  a  single  act  a  man  destroys  that  which  it  took  years  and 
years  to  build. 

Another  thing,  you  boys  built  this  building,  didn't  you? 
What  did  you  have?  You  had  a  plan.  You  had  an  architect 
who  presented  to  you  a  plan  and  in  different  groups  and  in  do- 
ing different  things  you  worked  in  accordance  with  that  plan, 
until  you  had  completed  this  building.  I  want  to  say  to  you  that 
you  never  can  become  what  you  ought  to  be,  you  never  can  be- 
come worthy  citizens  unless  you  have  some  plan.  A  man  who 
forms  no  resolutions,  who  makes  no  pledges,  who  has  no  par- 
ticular object  in  life  will  never  be  a  good  and  worthy  citizen. 
(Applause.) 

Judge  Murasky  has  suggested  that  you  might  all  plan  to  be 
Governors  of  the  State  of  California,  and  he  said  that  not  one  of 
you  could  suggest  a  good  reason  why  you  should  not  all  be  Gov- 
ernors. Well,  we  can  only  have  one  Governor  at  a  time.  (Laugh- 
ter and  applause.) 

I  think  I  can  illustrate  what  Judge  Alurasky  meant  and  at 
the  same  time  save  His  Excellency  his  job,  by  telling  you  a 
story  of  a  man  who  died  and  left  a  vineyard.  He  had  three  sons 
who  were  rather  lazy  and  shiftless.  Before  he  died  he  called  his 
sons  and  said:  "I  am  going  to  leave  you  a  very  large  fortune 
but  it  is  buried  in  the  vineyard.  If  you  will  dig  there  for  it  you 
will  find  it,  but  one  thing  you  must  be  very  careful  about,  you 
must  not  dig  close  enough  to  the  vines  to  injure  the  roots  or  you 
will  not  find  that  fortune."  After  he  died  these  sons  all  went 
out  to  find  this  hidden  pot  of  gold,  and  they  dug  in  the  ground 
but  they  never  found  it,  but  they  noticed  when  fall  came  on  that 
these  vines  which  had  heretofore  borne  very  little  fruit,  were 
filled  with  grapes  and  they  took  these  grapes  and  sold  them  and 


122  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

received  much  gold  therefor,  and  when  they  brought  the  gold 
together  and  saw  the  pile  they  talked  it  over  and  said :  "Perhaps 
after  all,  what  father  wanted  us  to  do  was  to  work  that  vine- 
yard." (Applause.) 

Now,  while  we  won't  seriously  promise  that  you  can  all  be 
Governors  of  the  State  of  California,  we  may  say  to  you,  with 
some  degree  of  assurance,  that  if  you  make  up  your  minds  to  be 
a  good  enough  citizen  to  be  a  Governor,  that  while  you  may 
never  realize  that  ambition  you  may  perhaps  realize  a  higher 
one.  You  may  be  a  judge  of  the  juvenile  court.  (Laughter  and 
applause.)  Yes,  we  pay  our  judges  more  than  we  pay  our  Gov- 
ernor. I  don't  think  that  is  right.  (Applause.)  I  make  a  motion 
right  now  that  we  increase  the  salary  of  the  Governor.  We  never 
can  pay  him  all  he  really  earns,  however,  because  it  would  bank- 
rupt the  State  treasury. 

I  am  going  to  turn  for  a  moment  from  the  line  of  thought 
I  have  just  been  giving  you  to  emphasize  what  has  been  said  to 
you  at  least  twice  this  afternoon,  that  every  boy  is  the  architect 
of  his  own  fortune  and  character.  We  hear  a  good  deal  said, 
Mr.  President  and  Mr.  Superintendent,  in  this  day  and  age,  of 
heredity,  and  there  are  some  people  who  explain  meanness  in 
boys  by  saying  they  inherit  their  meanness.  Don't  ever  try  to 
impose  upon  the  Court  that  way,  though.  That  is  an  old,  old 
story.  Nearly  three  thousand  years  ago  there  was  a  saying  in 
the  land  of  Israel,  that  the  fathers  had  eaten  sour  grapes  and  the 
children's  teeth  were  set  on  edge.  Now  the  Lord  sent  a  prophet 
to  tell  these  people  that  they  had  no  right  to  say  that,  and  here 
is  what  he  said  :  Ezekiel,  18  :20-23. 

20.  The  soul  that  sinneth  it  shall  die.  The  son  shall  not 
bear  the  iniquity  of  the  father,  neither  shall  the  father  bear  the 
iniquity  of  the  son:  the  righteousness  of  the  righteous  shall  be 
upon  him,  and  the  wickedness  of  the  wicked  shall  be  upon  him. 
21.  But  if  the  wicked  will  turn  from  all  his  sins  that 
he  hath  committed,  and  keep  all  my  statutes,  and  do  that  which 
is  lawful  and  right,  he  shall  surely  live,  he  shall  not  die. 

22.  All    his    transgressions    that    he    hath    committed,    they 
shall   not  be  mentioned   unto   him;   in   his   righteousness   that   he 
hath  done  he  shall  live. 

23.  Have    I    any   pleasure   at   all   that   the   wicked    shall   die? 
saith    the    Lord    God:    and    not    that    he    should   return    from    his 
ways  and  live? 

Boys,  in  closing,  I  cannot  resist  calling  your  attention  to 
the  fact,  which  every  one  of  us,  oldest  as  well  as  youngest,  may 
well  remember,  and  that  is  that  we  live  in  one  of  the  greatest 
and  most  glorious  countries  upon  the  face  of  the  earth.  These 
words  are  not  mere  idle  words  today.  It  is  brought  home  forci- 
bly to  my  mind  because  of  the  fact  that  I  have  a  sister  in  far 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  123 

distant  Persia,  and  there  men  and  women  are  now  being  slaugh- 
tered in  the  streets  by  the  soldiery,  and  the  soldiery  are  being 
slaughtered  by  the  citizenship.  Thousands  have  gone  down  in 
death.  What  for?  In  order  that  there  may  be  established  in 
that  land  something  of  the  liberty  which  you  and  I  enjoy  as  our 
free  heritage,  and  let  me  beg  of  you,  as  I  close,  that  each  and 
every  one  of  you  resolve  in  your  hearts  that  that  beautiful  statue 
which  stands  in  the  harbor  at  New  York,  with  uplifted  hand 
and  torch,  "Liberty  Enlightening  the  World,"  shall  be  no  idle 
dream  but  that  that  torch  shall  be  uplifted  and  shall  shine  until 
in  every  nation  there  is  the  liberty  which  you  and  I  enjoy  in  this 
beautiful  and  God  blest  country. 

HON.  JOSEPH  W.  HUGHES,  JUDGE  OF  THE  JUVENILE  COURT, 

SACRAMENTO. 

Your  Excellency,  Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen  and  my 

Little  Friends  : — 

I  want  to  assure  you  first  that  I  am  not  going  to  make  you  a 
long  speech.  My  associates  from  the  larger  cities  of  San  Fran- 
cisco and  Los  Angeles  have  made  you  good  speeches.  Speeches 
that  I  know  you  have  enjoyed  hearing  and  I  also  have  enjoyed 
hearing  very  much. 

There  are  a  few  ideas  that  I  want  to  call  to  your  attention. 
First,  though,  I  want  to  join  with  every  speaker  in  congratulating 
you  upon  this  magnificent  piece  of  work.  One  of  the  speakers 
said  that  it  is  a  mile-stone  or  a  sign-board  on  the  road  of  prog- 
ress and  I  want  to  concur  in  that  sentiment.  I  want  to  congrat- 
ulate you,  I  want  to  congratulate  all  the  people  of  California  in 
the  proposition  that  it  is  a  sign-board  on  the  road  of  progress.  I 
want  to  say  to  you  that  during  the  last  ten  years  in  California, 
and  in  every  state  of  this  great  Union,  there  has  been  a  most 
rapid  progress  made  with  reference  to  doing  something  for 
young  men  like  you.  I  want  you  to  know  that  in  every  state  in 
the  Union  the  people  are  aroused  to  the  necessity  of  doing 
something  for  the  boys  and  something  for  the  girls.  I  want  you 
to  know  that  right  in  California  a  great  deal  has  already  been 
done.  The  laws,  many  of  them,  have  already  been  adopted  so 
that  great  institutions  like  this  are  being  opened  throughout  the 
State,  and  that  the  best  men  and  women  in  the  State  are  giving 
their  time,  their  labor  and  their  lives  to  pointing  out  to  you  and 
to  other  boys,  the  road  that  makes  of  you  and  every  one  of  you 
a  good  man,  a  good  citizen,  a  man  who  goes  out  among  the  rest 
of  the  people  of  this  great  commonwealth  and  looks  every  other 
man  in  the  eye  and  has  the  feeling  and  knowledge  that  he  is 
doing  what  is  right  and  is  not  afraid  of  any  other  man.  Don't  you 


124  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


ever  stop  to  think  of  that,  boys?  Every  day  of  your  lives  just 
stop  and  think  of  that  and  if  you  can  say  to  your  own  heart  that 
you  know  you  are  doing  what  is  right,  you  do  not  know  how 
brave  it  will  make  you  feel.  Whenever  you  go  to  take  a  step 
in  any  business,  I  do  not  care  what,  just  stop  and  ask  yourself: 
Am  I  doing  right,  is  it  on  the  square,  is  it  decent,  am  I  doing 
anybody  else  a  wrong?  and  let  your  heart  and  conscience  tell 
you  you  are  doing  it  right  and  if  anybody  else  attempts  to  tell 
you  that  it  is  not  right,  then  you  are  ready  to  square  off  and 
fight.  Tell  him  you  did  it  right  and  you  are  proud  of  it.  There 
is  nothing  that  will  make  you  feel  better  than  to  do  it. 

Now  with  reference  to  this  progress  I  have  been  talking  to 
you  about  I  want  to  say  a  few  more  words.  I  want  you  to  know 
that  the  statement  our  good  Governor  has  made  to  you,  how 
willingly  he  gave  the  fifteen  thousand  dollars  to  enable  you  to 
put  up  this  magnificent  assembly  hall,  is  seconded  by  the  peo- 
ple of  the  State.  I  say  to  you  now  that  the  people  of  this  State 
are  learning  the  necessity  of  doing  this  kind  of  work  to  that 
degree  that  I  feel  confident  in  saying  to  you  that  the  next  legisla- 
ture of  the  great  State  of  California  will  adopt  such  laws  as  that 
the  judges  of  the  juvenile  courts  and  the  other  officers  of  the 
law  charged  with  the  performance  of  duties  in  your  behalf,  will 
be  able  to  do  more  for  the  cause  and  for  you  boys.  I  want  to 
see  the  law,  with  reference  to  commitment  to  this  institution, 
changed  so  that  every  boy  who  ought  to  be  here  can  come  with- 
out the  restrictions  that  are  placed  upon  the  judges  at  this  time. 
(Applause.) 

I  want  you  to  kno\v  that  all  over  the  world  the  sentiment  is 
not  to  spend  so  many  millions  of  dollars  in  prosecution  and 
punishment  of  crime,  but  on  the  contrary  to  spend  the  money 
in  the  prevention  of  the  making  of  the  criminal. 

One  week  ago  last  Monday  the  Home  Secretary  of  the  Brit- 
ish Empire,  Mr.  Gladstone,  introduced  in  the  parliament  of  that 
country  a  law  absolutely  remodeling  and  changing  entirely  the 
criminal  statutes  of  that  country  to  the  end  that  the  punishment 
for  crime  shall  no  longer  be  as  it  has  been  in  England,  but  that 
the  protection  shall  extend  to  every  man  who  is  being  punished 
for  crime  an  opportunity,  by  his  own  efforts  and  labor,  to  shorten 
his  term  and  to  obtain  his  freedom.  I  say  that  that  sentiment 
is  prevailing  all  over  the  world  and  it  is  a  guarantee  to  you  boys 
that  if  you  do  what  is  right,  man  to  man,  you  may  know  the 
people  will  do  what  is  right  by  you.  They  want  to  help  you 
along  and  with  this  sentiment  prevailing  throughout  the  country 
I  know  we  will  find  that  every  one  of  you  realize  how  the  people 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  125 

feel  about  you,  proud  of  you  as  they  are,  and  you  will  go  out 
into  the  State  and  make  good  honorable  men  that  we  will  be 
proud  of.  I  know  you  will  do  it. 

Now  just  a  word  more  that  I  want  to  say  to  my  boys  who 
are  here,  and  I  claim  every  one  of  you,  if  you  ever  come  to 
Sacramento.  I  want  to  tell  you  this,  I  have  talked  to  people 
there  about  getting  their  help  along  lines  of  this  kind.  A  good 
many  of  my  boys  have  been  away  and  have  come  back  to  me. 
Now  I  want  every  one  of  you  when  you  come  back  to  town  to 
come  and  see  me.  I  want  you  to  know  that  when  you  come  to 
see  me  that  I  am  going  to  help  you  get  a  job,  if  it  is  in  me.  I 
have  told  the  people  down  there  that  I  have  got  to  have  their 
help  in  finding  a  job  for  you,  and  I  am  glad  to  tell  you  that  there 
are  a  lot  of  good  people  there  who  have  volunteered  to  act  the 
part  of  big  brothers  to  you,  and  they  will  help  you  to  find  work, 
so  I  want  you  to  come. 

I  thank  you  kindly  for  the  patience  with  which  you  have 
listened  to  me,  and  I  want  to  say  it  is  a  great  pleasure  to  look 
into  your  faces,  to  know  what  you  are  doing,  to  know  what  is 
being  done  for  you,  and  it  is  the  pride  of  my  life  to  see  this  build- 
ing dedicated  today. 

I  thank  you  very  much. 


Reports  Los  Angeles  County 
Juvenile  Court 

In  Los  Angeles  County  the  juvenile  court  has  been  estab- 
lished and  a  probation  committee  and  a  probation  officer  ap- 
pointed. We  make  the  following  extracts  from  the  annual  report 
of  the  Chief  Probation  Officer,  Mr.  A.  C.  Dodds : 

"The  duties  of  a  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  do  not  end  with 
merely  passing  sentence  upon  each  individual  brought  before 
him.  Each  case  means  that  a  rigid  inquiry  must  be  made  into 
the  surrounding  circumstances  of  a  family,  schooling,  and  asso- 
ciates of  the  juvenile  offender;  that,  if  possible,  a  cause  may  be 
found  for  their  waywardness  and  a  proper  remedy  applied  to  fit 
each  individual  case. 

"To  this  end  it  is  nearly  always  necessary  that  the  case  be 
continued  and  the  child  placed  under  observation  for  a  time. 
Then  follows  a  careful  study  of  the  boy's  or  girl's  disposition, 
habits,  mental  and  physical  characteristics,  and  when  these  are 
understood,  a  final  decision  can  be  reached,  based  upon  a  diag- 
nosis of  each  case,  and  such  action  taken  by  the  court  as  will 
preclude  injustice  to  the  child  or  to  its  relatives. 

"Oftentimes  these  continuances  of  a  case  have  to  be  re- 
peated from  week  to  week,  and  upon  the  reports  made  to  the 
judge  of  the  conduct  of  the  child  the  court  can  impress  upon  it 
such  advice  and  counsel  as  particularly  fit  with  the  conditions. 
Permanent  and  lasting  impressions  for  good  upon  a  child  are 
only  reached  in  time  and  with  a  knowledge  of  the  effect  the 
system  followed  in  the  juvenile  court  has  upon  each  case  for  the 
better.  It  is  the  system  of  continuing  the  close  supervision  of 
a  child  which  is  the  keynote  to  success  in  accomplishing  a  refor- 
mation, and  it  is  due  to  this  system  that  so  many  arraignments, 
often  between  twenty  and  thirty,  are  before  the  court  each  week, 
while  as  a  rule,  only  a  few  new  cases  command  the  attention  of 
the  judge  at  each  session  of  the  juvenile  court. 

"Each  time  a  child  is  arraigned  before  Judge  Wilbur  his 
instructions  for  its  further  restraint  or  discipline  are  based  upon 
the  improvement  which  has  been  made  manifest  in  that  special 
case,  and  to  decide  when  the  improvement  has  been  such  as  to 
justify  the  court  in  releasing  the  child  under  supervision  of  the 
probation  officer. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  127 

"In  connection  with  the  work  accomplished  in  open  court, 
Judge  Wilbur  has  assumed  much  additional  work,  and  is  con- 
tinually having  personal  interviews  with  both  the  children  and 
their  parents  or  guardians  in  his  chambers,  whenever  time  can 
be  spared  from  his  judicial  duties.  This  work  by  the  judge  has 
been  an  exceedingly  important  factor  in  the  marvelous  success 
of  the  juvenile  court  in  Los  Angeles,  and  has  been  in  all  ways 
for  the  best  interests  of  the  children,  while  the  intent  and  pur- 
pose of  the  law  creating  the  court  has  been  given  its  most  com- 
plete interpretation. 

"Under  the  provision  of  Section  10  of  the  Juvenile  Court 
Law  a  board  of  six  citizens  has  been  appointed  to  investigate  all 
societies,  organizations,  or  individuals  applying  for,  or  receiv- 
ing, the  care  or  custody  of  delinquent  or  dependent  children.  The 
present  board  consists  of  four  women  and  two  men :  viz.,  Judge 
H.  H.  Klamroth  of  Pasadena,  chairman ;  Mrs.  W.  J.  Washburn, 
secretary ;  Mr.  Leonard  Merrill,  treasurer ;  Airs.  J.  F.  Sartori, 
Miss  Evelyn  Stoddart,  and  Mrs.  Nora  McCartney. 

"The  work  of  this  board  has  been  of  inestimable  value  to 
the  court.  Not  only  have  they  faithfully  performed  the  duties 
assigned  to  them  under  the  law,  but  some  of  them  have  been 
present  at  every  session  of  court,  and  they  have  manifested  a 
direct  personal  interest  in  the  children  who  were  up  for  a  hear- 
ing; they  have  talked  with  and  advised  them  and  their  parents, 
and  in  many  cases  have  helped  to  bring  about  a  better  condition 
of  things  in  the  wretched  homes  from  which  many  of  the  chil- 
dren have  come.  They  have  also  been  willing  to  act  as  proba- 
tion officers  in  special  cases,  and  have  found  homes  for  many 
homeless  children;  and  besides  raising  the  money  among  the 
women's  clubs  of  the  city  and  county  to  pay  the  salary  of  the 
probation  officer,  they  have  raised  and  expended  a  considerable 
sum  in  paying  for  the  board  of  children  whose  homes  were  unfit 
places  for  them  to  live  in.  One  of  these  ladies  has  even  taken  a 
homeless  waif  into  her  own  palatial  residence  and  is  rearing  her 
in  the  midst  of  cultured  surroundings  and  refined  luxury  to  be- 
come an  ornament  to  the  society  in  which  she  moves. 

"They  have  given  careful  attention  to  the  operation  of  the 
law  in  all  its  various  phases,  that  they  might  observe  its  weak 
points,  if  any,  and  by  co-operation  with  similar  boards  in  other 
cities,  use  their  best  endeavors  to  have  such  amendments  made 
as  will  make  the  law  more  effective  and  productive  of  still  better 
results. 


128  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


Report  for  the  Year  1905 — Juvenile  Court,  Los  Angeles  County. 

Number  of  cases  hoard  on  continuance 434 

Number  of  new  cases  heard — 

Boys    174 

Girls    .  32 

206 


640 

BOYS. 

On  parole    124 

Sent  to  Whittier"   16 

Sent  to   lone    1 

Sent   to  Catholic   Orphanage    2 

Sent  to  Feeble-Minded  Institute  1 

Returned  to  friends   7 

Placed   in    homes 7 

Number  of  cases  dismissed    8 

Escaped    8 

174 

GIRLS. 

On    parole    8 

Sent  to  Whittier 2 

Sent  to  Good  Shepherd 10 

Sent    to    Catholic    Orphanage 1 

Sent  to   Feeble-Minded   Institute    1 

Returned  to  friends   3 

Placed    in    homes    4 

Dismissed    3 

32 


*In  addition,  there  were  23  cases  sent  to  Whittier  from  former  years, 
having  failed  under  probation,  and  one  case  sent  to  lone. 

[From    report    of    State    Board    of    Charities    and    Corrections,    1906, 
pages  133-135.] 


Ten  Reasons  Why  A  Boy  Ought  To  Be  Good  " 

Composition  written  in  the  Detention  Home  Public  School,  by  a  Ixjy  in  response  to  a 
request  from  the  Juvenile  Court  Judge  for  ten  such  reasons. 


4k.  A 


Ten  Reasons  Why  A  Boy  Does  Wrong" 

Composition  written  l>y  the  same  l»oy  ( ente  12  years)  at  the  same  time, 
and  on  the  same  request,  as  the  one  on  the  back  of  this  pa^e. 


^ 
* 


KA. 


<T.         J^-g^ru 
^Ar~a~Y~^t' 


2 


O^^-f^-Ct. 

<»•        -^  —trtry   o/^c-e-o  I^AT^crr-vca  A*uu£fc 
'  Lu 


*7. 


-V 


The  New  Juvenile  Court  Law 

1911 


An  act  to  amend  an  act  entitled  "An  act  concerning  dependent 
and  delinquent  minor  children,  providing  for  their  care,  cus- 
tody and  maintenance  until  twenty-one  years  of  age ;  pro- 
viding for  their  commitment  to  the  Whittier  State  School 
and  the  Preston  State  School  of  Industry,  and  the  manner 
of  such  commitment  and  release  therefrom,  establishing  a 
probation  committee  and  probation  officers  to  deal  with  such 
children,  and  fixing  the  salaries  of  probation  officers ;  pro- 
viding for  detention  homes  for  said  children ;  providing  for 
the  punishment  of  persons  responsible  for,  or  contributing 
to,  the  dependency  or  delinquency  of  children  ;  and  giving 
to  the  Superior  Court  jurisdiction  of  such  offenses,  and  re- 
pealing inconsistent  acts,"  approved  March  8,  1909. 

[Approved  April  5,  1911.] 

The  people  of  the  State  of  California,  represented  in  senate  and 
assembly,  do  enact  as  follows : 

Section  1.  An  act  entitled,  "An  act  concerning  dependent 
and  delinquent  minor  children,  providing  for  their  care,  cus- 
tody and  maintenance  until  twenty-one  years  of  age ;  providing 
for  their  commitment  to  the  Whittier  State  School  and  the 
Preston  State  School  of  Industry,  and  the  manner  of  such  com- 
mitment and  release  therefrom,  establishing  a  probation  com- 
mittee and  probation  officers  to  deal  with  such  children,  and 
fixing  the  salaries  of  probation  officers ;  providing  for  detention 
homes  for  said  children;  providing  for  the  punishment  of  per- 
sons responsible  for,  or  contributing  to,  the  dependency  or  de- 
linquency of  children;  and  giving  to  the  Superior  Court  juris- 
diction of  such  offenses,  and  repealing  inconsistent  acts,"  ap- 
proved March  8,  1909,  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows : 

Section  1.  This  act  shall  be  known  as  the  "juvenile  court 
law"  and  shall  apply  only  to  persons  under  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years  not  now  or  hereafter  inmates  of  a  State  institution. 

For  the  purposes  of  this  act,  the  words  "dependent  person" 
shall  mean  any  person  under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  : 

(1).  Who  is  found  begging,  receiving  or  gathering  alms, 
whether  actually  begging  or  under  the  pretext  of  selling  or 
offering  anything  for  sale  ;  or 


130  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


(2).  Who  is  found  in  any  street,  road  or  public  place  for 
the  purpose  of  so  begging,  gathering  or  receiving  alms;  or 

(3).     Who  is  a  vagrant ;  or 

(4).  Who  is  found  wandering  and  not  having  any  home,  or 
any  settled  place  of  abode,  or  any  proper  guardianship,  or  any 
visible  means  of  subsistence  :  or 

(5).  Who  has  no  parent  or  guardian  ;  or  who  has  no  parent 
or  guardian  willing  to  exercise,  or  capable  of  exercising,  proper 
parental  control ;  or 

(6).     Who  is  destitute:  or 

(7).  Whose  home  by  reason  of  neglect,  cruelty  or  deprav- 
ity of  his  parents  or  cither  of  them,  or  on  the  part  of  his  guardian, 
or  on  the  part  of  the  person  in  whose  custody  or  care  he  may 
be.  is  an  unfit  place  for  such  person  ;  or 

(8).  Who  frequents  the  company  of  reputed  criminals,  va- 
grants or  prostitutes:  or 

(9).  Who  is  found  living  or  being  in  any  house  of  prostitu- 
tion or  assignation  ;  or 

(10).  Who  habitually  visits,  without  parent  or  guardian, 
any  billiard  room  or  pool  room,  or  any  saloon,  or  place  where 
any  spirituous,  vinous  or  malt  liquors  are  sold,  bartered  or  given 
away :  or 

(11).  Who  persistently  refuses  to  obey  the  reasonable  and 
proper  orders  or  directions  of  his  parents  or  guardian;  or 

(12).  Who  is  incorrigible;  that  is,  who  is  beyond  the  con- 
trol and  power  of  his  parents,  guardian  or  custodian  by  reason  of 
the  vicious  conduct  or  nature  of  said  person  ;  or 

(13).  Whose  father  is  dead  or  has  abandoned  his  family  or 
is  an  habitual  drunkard,  or  whose  father  or  mother  does  not 
provide  for  such  person,  and  it  appears  that  such  person  is  des- 
titute of  a  suitable  home  or  of  adequate  means  of  obtaining  an 
honest  living,  or  who  is  in  danger  of  being  brought  up  to  lead 
an  idle  and  dissolute  or  immoral  life :  or  where  both  parents 
of  such  person  are  dead,  or  the  mother  or  father,  if  living,  is  un- 
able to  provide  proper  support  and  care  of  such  person  ;  or 

(14).  Who  is  an  habitual  truant  within  the  meaning  of  an 
act  entitled  "An  act  to  enforce  the  educational  rights  of  children 
and  providing  penalties  for  the  violation  of  said  act,"  approved 
March  24.  1903.  and  any  act  or  acts  amending  or  superseding  the 
same  and  who  is  not  placed  in  a  parental  school  under  the  pro- 
visions of  said  act,  or  who  being  over  the  age  of  fourteen  years 
refuses  to  attend  public  or  private  school,  as  directed  by  his 
parents,  duly  authorixed  guardian  or  legal  custodian:  or 

(15).      Who  habitually  uses   intoxicating  liquor  as  a  bever- 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  131 

age  or  habitually  smokes  cigarettes  or  who  habitually  uses 
opium,  cocaine,  morphine  or  other  similar  drug,  without  the 
direction  of  a  competent  physician  ;  or 

(16).  Who  from  any  cause  is  in  danger  of  growing  up  to 
lead  an  idle,  dissolute,  or  immoral  life. 

The  words  "delinquent  person"  shall  include  any  person 
under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  who  violates  any  law  of  this 
State,  or  any  ordinance  of  any  town,  city,  county  or  city  and 
county  of  this  State,  defining  crime. 

Sec.  2.  The  Superior  Court  in  every  county  of  this  State 
shall  exercise  the  jurisdiction  conferred  by  this  act,  and,  while 
sitting  in  the  exercise  of  its  said  jurisdiction,  shall  be  known 
and  referred  to  as  the  "juvenile  court,"  and  is  hereinafter  so 
referred  to.  In  counties  having  more  than  one  judge  of  the 
Superior  Court,  the  judges  of  such  court  shall  from  time  to  time 
designate  one  or  more  of  their  number  whose  duty  it  shall  be 
to  hear  all  cases  coming  under  this  act.  In  counties  of  the  sec- 
ond class,  such  designation  shall  be  made  by  the  presiding  judge. 
The  orders  and  filings,  if  any,  of  the  Superior  Court,  in  all  cases 
coming  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall  be  entered  in  a 
book  to  be  kept  for  that  purpose  and  known  as  the  "juvenile 
court  record,"  and  the  court  when  acting  under  this  act  shall  be 
called  the  "juvenile  court."  All  cases  coming  under  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act  shall  be  heard  at  a  special  or  separate  session 
of  the  court,  and  no  other  matter  shall  be  heard  at  such  session, 
nor  shall  there  be  permitted  to  be  present  at  such  session  any 
person  on  trial  or  awaiting  trial,  or  under  accusation  of  crime, 
who  does  not  come  under  the  provisions  of  this  act. 

Sec.  3.  Any  person  may  file  with  the  clerk  of  the  Superior 
Court  a  petition  showing  that  there  is  within  the  county,  or  re- 
siding within  the  county,  a  dependent  or  delinquent  person,  and 
praying  that  the  Superior  Court  deal  with  such  person  as  pro- 
vided in  this  act.  Such  petition  shall  be  verified  and  shall  con- 
tain a  statement  of  facts  constituting  such  dependency  or  delin- 
quency, as  defined  in  Section  1  of  this  act,  and  the  names  and 
residence,  if  known  to  petitioner,  of  the  parents  or  guardian  of 
said  dependent  or  delinquent  person.  There  shall  be  no  fee  for 
filing  such  petition. 

Sec.  4.  I'pon  the  filing  of  the  petition  provided  for  in  Sec- 
tion 3  hereof,  a  citation  shall  issue,  requiring  the  person  or 
persons  having  the  custody  or  control  of  the  alleged  depend- 
ent or  delinquent  person,  or  with  whom  such  alleged  dependent 
or  delinquent  person  mav  be,  to  appear  with  said  alleged  de- 
pendent or  delinquent  person  at  a  time  and  place  stated  in  the 


132  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

citation.  Service  of  such  citation  must  be  made  at  least  twenty- 
four  hours  before  the  time  stated  therein  for  such  appearance. 
The  parents  or  guardian  of  said  alleged  dependent  or  delinquent 
person,  if  residing  within  the  county  in  which  the  court  sits,  and 
if  their  places  of  residence  be  known  to  the  petitioner,  or  if  there 
be  neither  parent  nor  guardian  so  residing,  or  if  their  places  of 
residence  be  not  known  to  petitioner,  then  some  relative  of  said 
alleged  dependent  or  delinquent  person,  if  any  there  be  residing 
within  said  county,  and  if  his  residence  and  relationship  to  such 
alleged  dependent  or  delinquent  person  be  known  to  petitioner, 
shall  be  notified  of  the  proceedings  by  service  of  citation  requir- 
ing him  or  them  to  appear  at  the  time  and  place  stated  in  such 
citation.  In  any  case  the  judge  may  appoint  some  suitable  per- 
son to  act  in  behalf  of  said  alleged  dependent  or  delinquent  per- 
son, and  may  order  such  further  notice  of  the  proceedings  to  be 
given  as  he  may  deem  proper.  If  any  person,  cited  as  herein 
provided,  shall  fail,  without  reasonable  cause,  to  appear  and 
abide  by  the  order  of  the  court,  or  to  bring  said  alleged  depend- 
ent or  delinquent  person,  if  so  required  in  the  citation,  such 
failure  shall  constitute  a  contempt  of  said  court  and  may  be  pun- 
ished as  provided  for  in  other  cases  of  contempt  of  court. 

In  case  such  citation  can  not  be  served,  or  the  party  served 
fails  to  obey  the  same,  and  in  any  case  in  which  it  shall  be 
made  to  appear  to  the  court  that  such  citation  will  probably 
be  ineffective,  a  warrant  of  arrest  shall  issue  on  the  order  of 
the  court,  either  against  the  parent  or  guardian,  or  the  person 
having  the  custody  of  said  alleged  dependent  or  delinquent 
person,  or  with  whom  the  said  alleged  dependent  or  delinquent 
person  may  be,  or  against  the  said  alleged  dependent  or  delin- 
quent person  himself,  or  any  or  all  said  persons;  or  if  there 
be  no  person  to  be  served  with  citation  as  above  provided,  a 
warrant  of  arrest  may  be  issued  against  the  said  alleged  depend- 
ent or  delinquent  person  immediately.  On  the  return  of  the 
citation  or  other  process,  or  as  soon  thereafter  as  may  be,  the 
court  shall  proceed  to  hear  and  dispose  of  the  case  in  a  summary 
manner.  Until  the  final  disposition  of  any  case,  the  said  alleged 
dependent  or  delinquent  person  may  be  retained  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  person  having  charge  of  said  person,  or  may  be  kept, 
upon  the  order  of  the  court,  in  some  suitable  place,  provided  by 
the  county,  or  city  and  county,  or  may  be  held  otherwise  as  the 
court  may  direct. 

Sec.  5.  When  any  alleged  dependent  or  delinquent  person 
under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  shall  be  found  by  said  court 
or  judge  to  be  dependent  or  delinquent,  within  the  meaning  of 


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Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  133 

this  act,  the  court  may  make  an  order  committing  said  depend- 
ent or  delinquent  person,  for  such  time  as  the  court  may  deem 
fit,  but  not  beyond  the  time  when  such  dependent  or  delinquent 
person  shall  reach  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  to  the  care  of 
some  reputable  person  of  good  moral  character,  or  to  the  care 
of  some  association,  society  or  corporation  willing  to  receive  it, 
embracing  in  its  objects  the  purpose  of  caring  for  or  obtaining 
homes  for  dependent  or  neglected  children,  or  to  the  care  of  the 
probation  officer  or  other  person  to  remain  in  the  home  of  said 
dependent  or  delinquent  person;  or  the  court  may,  if  said  de- 
pendent or  delinquent  person  be  a  boy,  commit  him  to  the  Pres- 
ton State  School  of  Industry,  or  to  the  Whittier  State  School, 
during  his  minority,  or  if  a  girl,  commit  her  to  the  Whittier  State 
School  until  twenty-one  years  of  age ;  provided,  however,  that 
before  conveying  any  such  dependent  or  delinquent  person  to 
either  of  such  institutions  it  shall  be  ascertained  from  the  super- 
intendent thereof  whether  such  dependent  or  delinquent  person 
can  be  received,  and  if  such  dependent  or  delinquent  person  can 
not  be  received,  the  court  shall  make  such  other  order  for  the 
disposition  of  such  dependent  or  delinquent  person  as  is  meet. 
After  making  any  of  the  above  mentioned  orders  the  court  may, 
from  time  to  time,  change  or  modify  the  same,  or  set  aside  the 
same,  or  commit  such  dependent  or  delinquent  person  to  such 
place  or  institution,  and  for  such  time,  as  the  court  may  deem 
fit,  but  not  beyond  the  time  when  such  person  shall  attain  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years. 

Sec.  6.  The  judge  of  the  Superior  Court  in  and  for  each 
county,  or  city  and  county,  of  the  State,  and  in  counties  where 
there  is  more  than  one  judge  of  the  said  court,  the  judge  who 
has  been  designated  as  "judge  of  the  juvenile  court"  shall,  by 
an  order  entered  in  the  minutes  of  the  court,  appoint  seven 
discreet  citizens  of  good  moral  character  and  of  either  sex,  to 
be  known  as  the  "probation  committee,"  and  shall  fill  all  vacan- 
cies occurring  in  such  committee.  The  clerk  of  said  court  shall 
immediately  notify  each  person  appointed  on  said  committee 
and  thereupon  said  persons  shall  appear  before  the  judge  of  (he 
Superior  Court  to  whom  has  been  assigned  all  proceedings  under 
this  act,  and  qualify  by  taking  an  oath,  which  shall  be  entered 
in  said  juvenile  court  record,  to  faithfully  perform  the  duties  of 
a  member  of  such  probation  committee. 

Sec.  7.  The  members  of  such  probation  committee  shall 
hold  office  for  four  years,  and  until  their  successors  are  appointed 
and  qualify;  provided,  that  of  those  first  appointed,  one  shall 
hold  office  for  one  year,  two  for  two  years,  two  for  three  years. 


134  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


and  two  for  four  years,  the  terms  for  which  the  respective  mem- 
bers shall  hold  office  to  be  determined  by  lot  as  soon  after  their 
appointment  as  may  be.  When  any  vacancy  occurs  in  any  pro- 
bation committee  by  expiration  of  the  term  of  office  of  jmy  mem- 
ber thereof,  his  successor  shall  be  appointed  to  hold  office  for  the 
term  of  four  years ;  when  any  vacancy  occurs  for  any  other  rea- 
son, the  appointee  shall  hold  office  for  the  unexpired  term  of  his 
predecessor. 

Sec.  8.  The  juvenile  court  or  the  judge  thereof  may  at  any 
time  require  said  probation  committee  or  probation  officer  to 
examine  into  the  qualifications  and  management  of  any  society, 
association  or  corporation,  other  than  a  State  institution,  receiv- 
ing, or  applying  for,  any  dependent  or  delinquent  person  under 
this  act,  and  to  report  thereon  to  the  court. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  probation  committee  to  pre- 
pare each  year  one  or  more  reports  in  writing  on  the  qualifica- 
tions and  management  of  all  societies,  associations  and  corpora- 
tions, except  State  institutions,  applying  for  or  receiving  any 
dependent  or  delinquent  person  under  this  act  from  the  courts 
of  their  respective  counties,  and  in  such  report  said  committee 
may  make  such  suggestions  or  comments  as  to  them  may  seem 
fit ;  such  report  to  be  filed  in  the  office  of  the  clerk  of  the  court 
appointing  such  committee  for  the  information  of  the  court. 
The  probation  committee  shall  also  make  to  the  court  an  annual 
report  to  be  filed  prior  to  the  first  day  of  December.  It  shall  be 
the  duty  of  the  probation  committee  to  exercise  a  friendly  super- 
vision and  visitation  over  the  dependent  or  delinquent  person 
in  accordance  with  the  direction  of  the  court,  to  furnish  the 
court  information  and  assistance  whenever  required,  and,  from 
time  to  time,  to  advise  and  recommend  to  the  court  any  change 
or  modification  of  the  order  made  in  the  case  of  a  dependent  or 
delinquent  person  as  may  be  for  the  best  interests  of  such  per- 
son. Upon  request  of  the  probation  officer,  any  member  of  the 
probation  committee  shall  investigate  an  alleged  case  coming 
under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  render  a  report  thereon  to 
the  probation  officer.  The  probation  committee  shall  also  have 
the  control  and  management  of  the  internal  affairs  of  any  de- 
tention home  heretofore  or  hereafter  established  by  the  board  of 
supervisors  of  their  county  ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board 
of  supervisors  to  provide  for  the  payment  of  such  employees  as 
may  be  needed  in  the  efficient  management  of  such  detention 
home. 

Sec.  9.  Members  of  the  probation  committee  shall  serve 
without  compensation,  but  shall  be  allowed  their  reasonable 


05    3 

CU      c 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  135 

traveling  expenses  as  approved  by  the  judge  of  the  juvenile 
court ;  and  the  same  shall  be  a  charge  upon  the  county  in  which 
the  court  appointing  them  has  jurisdiction,  and  said  expenses 
shall  be  paid  out  of  the  county  treasury  upon  a  written  order  of 
the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  of  said  county  directing  the  county 
auditor  to  draw  his  warrant  upon  the  county  treasurer  for  the 
specified  amount  of  such  expenses. 

Sec.  10.  There  shall  be  appointed,  as  hereinafter  provided, 
a  probation  officer  in  every  county,  and  he  may  appoint  as  many 
deputies  as  he  may  desire ;  provided,  however,  that  such  depu- 
ties shall  not  have  authority  to  act  until  their  appointment  shall 
be  approved  in  like  manner  as  the  appointment  of  the  probation 
officer  himself.  Such  deputies,  except  as  hereinafter  provided, 
shall  serve  without  compensation. 

Section  lOa.  In  counties  of  the  first  class  there  shall  be 
one  probation  officer  and  nineteen  assistant  probation  officers. 
The  salaries  of  said  officers  shall  be  as  follows :  Probation  officer, 
$200  per  month ;  two  assistant  probation  officers,  $150  per  month, 
each  ;  sixteen  assistant  probation  officers,  $100  per  month,  each  ; 
one  probation  officers'  clerk  at  a  salary  of  $75  per  month. 

Section  lOb.  In  counties,  or  cities  and  counties,  of  the  sec- 
ond class  there  shall  be  one  probation  officer  and  ten  assistant 
probation  officers.  The  salaries  of  said  officers  shall  be  as  fol- 
lows: Probation  officer,  $225  per  month  ;  one  assistant  probation 
officer,  $175  per  month;  and  nine  assistant  probation  officers,  at 
$125  per  month  each. 

Section  lOc.  In  counties  of  the  third  class  there  shall  be 
one  probation  officer,  and  eight  assistant  probation  officers.  The 
salaries  of  said  officers  shall  be  as  follows :  Probation  officer, 
$200  per  month;  one  assistant  probation  officer,  $150  per  month; 
three  assistant  probation  officers,  $125  per  month,  each ;  two 
assistant  probation  officers,  $100  per  month,  each  ;  one  assistant 
probation  officer,  $75  per  month;  and  one  assistant  probation 
officer,  $50  per  month. 

Section  lOd.  In  counties  of  the  fourth  class  there  shall  be 
one  probation  officer  and  one  assistant  probation  officer.  The 
salaries  of  said  officers  shall  be  as  follows:  Probation  officer. 
$150  per  month;  assistant  probation  officer  $100  per  month. 

Section  lOe.  In  counties  of  the  fifth  class  there  shall  be  one 
probation  officer  whose  salary  shall  be  $125  per  month. 

Section  lOf.  In  counties  of  the  sixth  class  there  shall  be 
one  probation  officer  and  two  assistant  probation  officers.  The 
salaries  of  said  officers  shall  be  as  follows:  Probation  officer. 


136  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

$175  per  month;  one  assistant  probation  officer,  $150  per  month; 
and  one  assistant  probation  officer,  $100  per  month.  . 

Section  lOg.  In  counties  of  the  seventh  class  there  shall  be 
one  probation  officer  and  two  assistant  probation  officers.  The 
salaries  of  said  officers  shall  be  as  follows :  Probation  officer, 
$125  per  month;  one  assistant  probation  officer,  $120  per  month; 
and  one  assistant  probation  officer,  $100  per  month. 

Section  lOh.  In  counties  of  the  eighth  class  there  shall  be 
one  probation  officer  whose  salary  shall  be  $100  per  month. 

Section  lOi.  In  counties  of  the  ninth  class  there  shall  be  one 
probation  officer  and  two  assistant  probation  officers.  The  sal- 
aries of  said  officers  shall  be  as  follows :  Probation  officer,  $100 
per  month  ;  one  assistant  probation  officer,  $75  per  month ;  and 
one  assistant  probation  officer,  $50  per  month. 

Section  lOj.  In  each  of  the  counties  of  the  tenth  class  there 
shall  be  one  probation  officer  who  shall  maintain  an  office  in  the 
court-house  at  the  county-seat.  The  salary  of  said  probation 
officer  shall  be  $125  per  month. 

Section  10k.  In  each  of  the  counties  of  the  eleventh,  twelfth, 
thirteenth,  seventeenth,  twenty-third,  twenty-fifth,  twenty-sev- 
enth and  thirty-third  classes  there  shall  be  one  probation  officer. 
The  salary  of  each  of  said  probation  officers  shall  be  $100  per 
month.  In  counties  of  the  thirteenth  class  there  shall  be  one 
assistant  probation  officer  whose  salary  shall  be  $25  per  month. 

Section  101.  In  counties  of  the  thirty-fifth  class  there  shall 
be  one  probation  officer  who  shall  maintain  an  office  in  the  court- 
house at  the  county-seat.  The  salary  of  said  probation  officer 
shall  be  $100  per  month. 

Section  10m.  In  each  of  the  counties  of  the  fifteenth  class 
there  shall  be  one  probation  officer.  The  salary  of  said  probation 
officer  shall  be  $80  per  month. 

Section  lOn.  In  each  of  the  counties  of  the  fourteenth,  six- 
teenth, nineteenth,  twentieth,  twenty-second,  thirtieth,  thirty- 
second  and  thirty-eighth  classes  there  shall  be  one  probation 
officer.  The  salary  of  each  of  said  probation  officers  shall  be 
$75  per  month. 

Section  lOr.  In  each  of  the  counties  of  the  twenty-first, 
thirty-fourth  and  thirty-ninth  classes  there  shall  be  one  pro- 
bation officer.  The  salary  of  each  of  said  probation  officers  shall 
be  $50  per  month. 

Section  lOt.  In  counties  of  the  forty-eighth  class  there  shall 
be  one  probation  officer  whose  salary  shall  be  $25  per  month. 

Section  lOu.  In  each  of  the  counties  of  the  forty-second, 
forty-fourth,  fiftieth,  fifty-second  and  fifty-fifth  classes  there 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  137 

shall  be  one  probation  officer.  The  salary  of  each  of  said  pro- 
bation officers  shall  be  $10  per  month. 

Section  lOv.  In  each  of  the  counties  of  the  fifty-seventh 
and  fifty-eighth  classes  there  shall  be  one  probation  officer.  The 
salary  of  each  of  said  probation  officers  shall  be  $5  per  month. 

Section  lOz.  In  every  other  county  than  those  heretofore 
expressly  enumerated  the  salary  of  the  probation  officer  shall 
be  $35  per  month. 

Sec.  11.  The  salaries  of  all  probation  officers  and  assistant 
probation  officers  shall  be  paid  out  of  the  county  treasury  of  the 
county  for  which  they  are  appointed,  respectively,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  salaries  of  county  officers. 

Sec.  12.  The  probation  officers  and  assistant  probation 
officers  and  deputy  probation  officers  in  all  counties  of  the  State 
shall  be  allowed  such  necessary  incidental  expenses  as  may  be 
authorized  by  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court;  and  the  same 
shall  be  a  charge  upon  the  county  in  which  the  court  appointing 
them  has  jurisdiction,  and  said  expenses  shall  be  paid  out  of  the 
county  treasurer  upon  a  written  order  of  the  judge  of  the  juvenile 
court  of  said  county  directing  the  county  auditor  to  draw  his 
warrant  upon  the  county  treasurer  for  the  specified  amount  of 
such  expenses. 

Sec.  13.  The  offices  of  probation  officer  and  assistant  pro- 
bation officer  are  hereby  created.  The  probation  officers  and 
assistant  probation  officers  to  serve  hereunder  in  any  county 
or  city  and  county  shall  be  nominated  by  the  probation  com- 
mittee in  such  manner  as  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  in  the 
respective  counties  or  city  and  county  shall  direct ;  and  the  ap- 
pointment of  such  probation  officers  and  assistant  probation  offi- 
cers shall  then  be  made  by  the  judges  of  the  respective  juvenile 
courts.  The  term  of  office  of  the  probation  officers  and  of  assist- 
ant probation  officers  shall  be  two  years  from  the  date  of  their 
said  appointments. 

In  counties,  or  cities  and  counties,  where  this  act  provides 
for  one  probation  officer  and  one  or  more  assistant  probation 
officers,  all  of  such  officers  shall  devote  their  entire  time  and 
attention  to  the  duties  of  their  offices,  and  no  such  probation 
officer  or  assistant  probation  officer  while  holding  such  office 
and  receiving  salary  therefor,  shall  be  a  candidate  or  seek  the 
nomination  for  any  other  public  office  or  employment,  and  no 
person  shall  be  appointed  to  and  receive  the  salary  attached  to 
such  office  of  either  probation  officer  or  assistant  probation 
officer  who  is  related  to  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  or  to  a 
member  of  the  probation  committee  of  such  county,  or  city  and 


138  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

county,  by  consanguinity  or  affinity,  within  the  third  degree 
computed  according  to  the  rules  of  law.  Sluch  probation 
officers  and  assistant  probation  officers  may  at  any  time  be  re- 
moved by  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  in  his  discretion. 

Sec.  14.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  clerk  of  any  court  before 
which  a  dependent  or  delinquent  person  is  brought  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  before  hearing,  to  notify  the  probation 
officer  of  the  county  thereof. 

Sec.  15.  The  probation  officer  shall  inquire  into  the  ante- 
cedents, character,  family  history,  environment  and  cause  of 
dependency  or  delinquency  of  every  alleged  dependent  or 
delinquent  person  brought  before  the  juvenile  court,  and  shall 
make  his  report  in  writing  to  the  judge  thereof;  provided,  how- 
ever, that  only  when  the  judge  so  specially  orders  shall  he  make 
such  inquiry  or  report  in  the  case  of  a  dependent  or  delinquent 
person  who  has  already  been  placed  by  the  juvenile  court  in 
charge  of  a  society,  association  or  corporation  which  embraces 
within  its  objects  the  care  of  dependent  or  delinquent  children, 
and  which  has  in  the  last  report  thereon  by  the  probation  com- 
mittee of  such  county  been  favorably  passed  upon.  In  the  event 
that  such  a  society,  association  or  corporation  shall  be  so  in 
charge  it  shall  through  its  agents  or  superintendent  make  such 
report  to  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  in  place  of  the  proba- 
tion officer. 

It  shall  be  the  duty  of  said  probation  officer,  agent  or  super- 
intendent of  such  society,  association  or  corporation  to  be  present 
in  court  in  order  to  represent  the  interests  of  the  dependent  or 
delinquent  person  when  the  case  is  heard,  and  to  furnish  to  the 
court  such  information  and  assistance  as  it  may  require  and  to 
make  such  report  at  such  time  :  and  to  take  charge  of  said  de- 
pendent or  delinquent  person  before  and  after  the  hearing  as 
may  be  ordered.  Every  probation  officer,  assistant  probation 
officer  and  deputy  probation  officer  shall  have  the  powers  of  a 
peace  officer.  At  any  time,  in  his  discretion,  such  officer  may 
bring  any  dependent  or  delinquent  person  committed  to  his  care 
before  the  court  for  such  further  or  other  action  as  the  court  may 
deem  proper. 

Every  probation  officer  shall  have  the  powers  of  a  school 
attendance  officer,  in  such  portions  of  the  county,  in  which 
such  probation  officer  has  been  appointed,  as  are  not  otherwise 
provided  with  a  school  attendance  officer,  and  shall  exercise 
such  powers  when  not  inconsistent  with  his  other  duties. 

Any  of  the  duties  of  a  probation  officer  may  be  performed 
by  an  assistant  or  deputy  probation  officer,  and  shall  be  so  per- 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  139 

formed  whenever  directed  by  the  probation  officer ;  and  it  shall 
be  the  duty  of  the  probation  officer  to  see  that  his  assistant  and 
deputy  probation  officers  perform  their  duties. 

Sec.  16.  Whenever  a  deposition  or  complaint  shall  be  filed 
in  any  court  other  than  a  Superior  Court,  charging  a  person 
with  a  crime  and  it  shall  be  suggested  to  the  judge,  justice  or 
recorder  before  whom  such  person  is  brought  that  the  person 
charged  is  under  the  age  of  eighteen  years,  said  judge,  justice 
or  recorder  shall  immediately  suspend  all  proceedings  against 
such  person  on  said  charge  and  examine  into  the  age  of  such 
person  and  if,  from  such  examination,  it  shall  appear  to  the 
satisfaction  of  said  judge,  justice  or  recorder  that  such  person 
is  under  the  age  above  specified,  he  shall  forthwith  certify  to 
the  juvenile  court  of  his  county  (a)  that  said  person  (naming 
him)  is  charged  with  such  crime  (briefly  stating  its  nature)  ; 
(b)  that  such  person  appears  to  be  under  the  age  of  eighteen 
years  and  giving  date  of  birth  when  known,  and  (c)  the  sus- 
pension of  proceedings  against  such  person  on  such  charge 
by  reason  of  his  age,  with  the  date  of  such  suspension  ;  and 
immediately  thereupon  all  proceedings  against  the  said  person 
on  said  charge  shall  be  suspended  until  said  juvenile  court 
shall  issue  its  mandate,  as  hereinafter  provided,  directing  the 
court  before  which  said  charge  was  pending  to  proceed  with 
the  examination  into  or  trial  thereof,  and  the  court  so  sus- 
pending its  proceedings  shall  forthwith  cause  such  person  to 
be  taken  before  the  juvenile  court  of  the  county  for  considera- 
tion and  proceedings  under  this  act.  When  such  person  shall 
be  brought  before  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  said  judge 
shall  cause  a  complaint  to  be  filed  as  provided  in  Section  3  of 
this  act  and  shall  fix  a  time  for  considering  said  matter  and 
shall  cause  citation  to  be  issued,  as  provided  in  Section  4  of 
this  act.  Pending  such  hearing,  said  judge  may  admit  such 
person  to  bail  or  otherwise  provide  for  his  temporary  custody 
in  any  manner  provided  herein  for  the  care  of  a  dependent 
or  delinquent  person  after  the  finding  of  his  delinquency.  The 
judge  of  said  juvenile  court  may  further  investigate  the  age 
of  such  person  and  may  also  inquire  into  the  condition  and  care 
of  such  person  and  make  such  orders  for  his  disposition  under 
the  provisions  of  this  act  as  he  may  deem  proper.  If  said  judge 
shall,  after  such  investigation,  decide  that  such  person  was  at 
the  time  said  offense  was  alleged  to  have  been  committed  of 
the  age  of  eighteen  years  or  more,  such  determination  shall  be 
conclusive  anil  he  shall  immediately  issue  his  mandate  directing 
the  court  before  which  such  charge  is  pending  to  proceed  there- 


140  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

with,  and  upon  receipt  of  such  mandate  said  court  shall  proceed 
with  the  examination  or  trial  of  said  charge*  as  though  no  sus- 
pension thereof  had  taken  place ;  provided,  however,  that  if  the 
court  shall  find  that  the  person  so  charged  is  under  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years  but  a  fit  subject  for  consideration  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  he  may  make  such  order  or  orders  here- 
under  as  he  may  deem  best  in  relation  to  such  person ;  provided 
further,  however,  that  if  such  judge  shall  at  any  time  conclude 
that  such  person  is  not  a  fit  subject  for  further  consideration 
under  this  act,  he  may  remand  such  person  to  the  court  in  which 
said  person  is  charged  with  said  offense  for  further  proceedings 
on  said  charge,  and  upon  receipt  of  the  mandate  of  said  juvenile 
court,  or  the  judge  thereof,  the  court  before  which  said  charge 
is  then  pending  shall  be  vested  with  full  authority  to  proceed 
with  the  examination  or  trial  thereof.  All  statutes  of  limita- 
tions relating  to  the  charge  so  pending  against  such  person  shall 
be  suspended  as  to  said  person  and  charge  from  the  issuance  by 
said  judge,  justice  or  recorder  of  his  certificate  hereinbefore  pro- 
vided for  until  said  juvenile  court,  or  the  judge  thereof,  shall 
issue  its  mandate  remanding  such  person  for  further  proceedings 
as  aforesaid ;  and  all  statutes  of  limitation  relating  to  any  charge, 
made  in  any  court,  against  any  person  under  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years,  shall  be  suspended  as  to  such  charge  and  person  when- 
ever, and  as  long  as,  such  person  is  before  the  juvenile  court  for 
consideration  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  or  is  detained 
by  virtue  of  any  commitment  issued  hereunder  and  unrevoked ; 
provided,  however,  that  if  said  delinquent  person  shall  be  dis- 
charged by  the  juvenile  court  as  reformed,  such  order  of  dis- 
charge shall  constitute  a  bar  to  any  further  proceedings  in  any 
court  against  said  dependent  or  delinquent  person  upon  said 
charge. 

Sec.  17.  "Whenever  it  is  claimed  that  any  person  under  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years  is  a  dependent  or  delinquent  person 
as  defined  in  this  act,  a  verified  petition  shall  be  filed  in  the 
juvenile  court  of  the  county  wherein  said  alleged  dependency 
or  delinquency  occurred,  stating  such  dependency  or  delin- 
quency and  the  facts  constituting  the  same,  and  that  said  de- 
pendent or  delinquent  person  is  under  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years,  and  praying  that  the  said  court  shall  adjudge  said  per- 
son to  be  a  dependent  or  delinquent  person  within  the  meaning 
of  this  act.  Notice  shall  be  given  of  the  time  and  place  of  hear- 
ing as  in  the  case  of  a  person  alleged  to  be  a  dependent  or  de- 
linquent person,  and  the  petition  shall  be  heard  at  the  time  and 
place  designated  by  the  juvenile  court.  If  the  court  shall  adjudge 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  141 

said  person  to  be  a  dependent  or  delinquent  person,  within  the 
meaning  of  this  act,  such  order  shall  be  made  as  is  meet  in  the 
premises,  as  in  this  act  provided.  If  upon  said  hearing  said 
court  shall  determine  that  said  dependent  or  delinquent  person 
is  not  a  fit  and  proper  subject  to  be  dealt  with  under  the  reform- 
atory provisions  of  this  act,  said  court  may  dismiss  the  petition 
hereunder  and  direct  that  such  dependent  or  delinquent  person 
be  prosecuted  under  the  general  law.  No  dependent  or  delin- 
quent person  under  eighteen  years  of  age  shall  be  prosecuted  for 
crime  until  the  matter  has  first  been  submitted  to  the  juvenile 
court  by  petition  as  herein  provided,  or  by  certificate  of  the 
lower  court  as  provided  in  section  16  hereof. 

Sec.  18.  Whenever  any  person  over  the  age  of  eighteen 
years  and  under  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  is  accused  of  a 
felony,  and  the  indictment  or  information  has  been  filed  in  the 
superior  court  of  the  county  wherein  the  crime  was  committed, 
charging  said  person  with  the  commission  of  said  felony,  the 
judge  may,  in  his  discretion,  with  the  consent  of  the  accused, 
or  upon  his  request,  arrest  said  proceeding  at  the  time  of  ar- 
raignment or  at  any  time  previous  to  the  impanelment  of  a  jury, 
except  where  the  crime  charged  is  a  capital  offense  and  may 
proceed  to  investigate  the  charge  against  the  defendant,  and  all 
the  facts  and  circumstances  necessary  to  determine  the  proper 
disposition  to  be  made  of  said  person,  and  shall  determine 
whether  said  person  shall  be  dealt  with  as  a  delinquent  under 
the  provisions  of  this  act.  If  the  court  is  satisfied  upon  such 
investigation  that  said  person  should  be  declared  a  delinquent 
and  should  be  dealt  with  under  this  act,  it  may  make  such  order 
as  herein  provided  for  the  disposition  of  delinquent  persons.  If 
such  person  thereafter  prove  not  to  be  amenable  to  the  discip- 
line of  the  school  to  which  he  may  be  committed,  and  the  trustees 
thereof  shall  determine  that  said  person  should  be  committed  to 
a  state  penitentiary,  such  person  shall  be  returned  to  the  custody 
of  the  sheriff  of  the  county  in  which  such  crime  was  committed, 
and  thereafter  proceedings  shall  be  had  upon  the  indictment  or 
information  commencing  at  the  point  at  which  proceedings  were 
arrested;  and  said  person  shall  be  tried  for  the  offense  alleged 
in  the  information,  and  if  convicted  shall  be  sent  to  the  peni- 
tentiary for  such  time  as  the  court  may  determine,  or  otherwise 
dealt  with  in  accordance  with  the  law  for  dealing  with  persons 
convicted  of  a  felony.  If  no  request  is  made  by  the  defendant  for 
proceedings  under  this  statute,  or  if  the  defendant  desires  a 
trial  by  jury,  or  if  the  judge  declines  to  consent  to  the  application 


142  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


of  the  defendant  for  proceedings  under  t£is  statute,  said  cause 
shall  proceed  in  the  ordinary  manner  up  to  the  verdict  of  guilty 
or  not  guilty  as  the  case  may  be.  If  said  person  is  convicted, 
the  court  may  thereafter  receive  such  evidence  as  may  be  of- 
fered, touching  the  question  as  to  whether  or  not  said  person 
should  be  dealt  with  as  a  delinquent  in  the  manner  hereinbefore 
provided  in  case  of  the  application  and  consent  of  the  accused 
before  trial,  and  may  make  such  order  of  probation  or  commit- 
ment to  said  state  schools,  and  may  from  time  to  time  modify 
said  probation  orders,  as  is  herein  provided  in  the  case  of  per- 
sons adjudged  delinquent.  If  such  person  during  the  period  of 
his  commitment  to  said  state  institution,  proves  to  be  incor- 
rigible or  not  amenable  to  the  discipline  of  such  institution,  and 
it  shall  be  deemed  advisable  in  the  judgment  of  the  trustees  of 
such  institution  that  said  person  be  sent  to  the  penitentiary, 
then  said  person  shall  be  returned  to  the  Superior  Court  in  which 
the  verdict  was-  rendered,  for  sentence,  and  thereupon  the  court 
shall  pronounce  judgment. 

Sec.  19.  In  the  case  of  a  person  alleged  to  be  delinquent 
within  the  meaning  of  this  act,  the  juvenile  court  may,  pend- 
ing the  hearing,  at  any  time  before  the  person  is  adjudged  de- 
linquent or  otherwise  disposed  of.  order  that  said  person  be 
detained  in  any  detention  home,  provided  for  that  purpose  by 
any  county  or  it  may  be  otherwise  temporarily  provided  for  as 
to  the  court  may  seem  fit  in  any  manner  provided  herein  for 
the  care  of  a  person  after  the  termination  of  his  delinquency. 

Sec.  20.  If  the  court  find  a  person  to  be  delinquent,  then 
the  court  may  commit  such  person  to  the  care  and  custody  of 
the  probation  officer  and  may  allow  the  said  person  to  remain 
in  the  home  of  said  person,  subject  to  the  visitation  of  a  proba- 
tion officer,  and  such  person  shall  report  to  the  probation  offi- 
cer as  often  as  may  be  required,  and  be  subject  to  be  returned 
to  the  court  for  further  proceedings  whenever  such  action  may 
appear  necessary  or  desirable,  or  the  court  may  commit  the 
person  to  the  care  and  custody  of  the  probation  officer,  to  be 
placed  in  a  suitable  family  home  subject  to  the  supervision  of 
said  probation  officer  and  the  further  order  of  the  court;  or 
it  may  order  the  probation  officer  to  board  out  the  person  in 
some  suitable  family  home  in  case  provision  is  made  by  volun- 
tary contribution  or  otherwise  for  the  payment  of  the  board 
of  said  person  until  suitable  provision  may  be  made  for  said 
person  in  a  home  without  such  payment  :  or  the  court  may  com- 
mit said  person  for  such  time  until  such  person  arrives  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years  as  to  the  court  may  seem  fit,  to  the 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  143 

care  and  custody  of  some  association,  society  or  corporation 
that  will  receive  it,  embracing  within  its  object  the  care  of 
dependent  or  delinquent  children ;  or  the  court  may  commit 
said  person  to  a  state  school  as  hereinbefore  provided,  or  to 
such  other  state  institution  as  may  be  authorized  by  law  to 
receive  it.  Provided  further,  that  should  the  legislative  body 
of  the  county  or  city  and  county,  or  of  a  municipality,  provide 
a  suitable  place  for  the  detention  of  dependent  or  delinquent 
persons  which  they  are  hereby  authorized  and  required  to  do, 
such  dependent  or  delinquent  persons  may  be  committed  thereto 
after  the  adjudication  of  dependency  or  delinquency  for  a  definite 
period  to  be  specified  in  such  order,  at  the  end  of  which  time 
said  person  shall  be  brought  before  the  court  for  further  order 
of  court.  The  court  may  thereafter  set  aside,  change  or  modify 
said  order  and  provide  for  a  further  detention  in  said  place. 
The  court  shall  retain  the  jurisdiction  of  any  person  who  is 
found  to  be  delinquent  until  such  person  attains  his  majority, 
or  if  a  girl,  until  she  attains  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  unless 
she  is  married  with  the  consent  of  the  court,  or  until  said  court 
is  satisfied  that  said  person  has  fully  reformed  and  that  further 
direction  and  supervision  under  the  provisions  of  this  act  are 
unnecessary  for  said  person's  reformation.  If  a  boy,  said  per- 
son may  be  committed  by  said  court  to  the  Whittier  State  School 
or  the  Preston  State  School  of  Industry  at  any  time  during  his 
minority  for  the  period  of  his  minority.  If  a  girl,  she  may  be 
committed  to  the  said  Whittier  State  School  at  any  time  before 
she  is  twenty-one  years  of  age  until  she  is  twenty-one  years  of 
age.  Such  person  may  be  committed  to  any  other  institution  now 
or  hereafter  provided  by  the  state  for  such  persons.  If  such 
person  after  being  committed  to  the  Whittier  State  School  or 
the  Preston  State  School  of  Industry  or  such  other  institution, 
shall  there  prove  to  be  incorrigible  or  incapable  of  reformation 
under  the  discipline  of  the  school  to  which  such  person  may  be 
committed,  such  person  may  be  returned  to  the  court  for  such 
further  order  or  disposition  as  may  at  that  time  be  determined. 
Upon  the  return  of  said  person  to  the  custody  of  the  juvenile 
court,  if  said  person  be  accused  of  felony,  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  the  judge  of  said  court  to  sit  as  a  committing  magistrate  and 
hold  the  preliminary  examination  of  such  person,  and  if  upon 
said  hearing  he  shall  determine  that  there  is  probable  cause  to 
believe  that  the  said  person  has  committed  the  offense  charged 
in  the  petition  theretofore  filed  in  said  court,  he  shall  hold  such 
person  to  answer  to  the  Superior  Court,  and  thereupon,  the 
usual  proceedings  shall  be  had  for  the  trial  of  said  case  in  the 


144  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

^ 

Superior  Court  after  the  filing  of  the  information  in  pursuance 
to  said  order  of  said  judge  sitting  as  a  committing  magistrate, 
and  said  person  shall  be  tried  by  court  and  jury  in  the  usual 
manner  for  the  trial  of  a  felony.  Provided,  however,  that  no 
minor  under  the  age  of  fourteen  years  at  the  time  of  the  com- 
mission of  the  offense  with  which  he  is  charged  shall  ever  be 
sent  to  a  penitentiary  until  he  has  first  been  committed  to  the 
Whitticr  State  School  or  the  Preston  State  School  of  Industry 
and  has  there  proved  to  be  incorrigible  or  not  amenable  to  the 
discipline  of  said  school.  No  minor  who  is  under  the  age  of 
eight  years  or  who  is  suffering  from  any  contagious,  infectious 
or  other  disease  which  would  probably  endanger  the  lives  or 
health  of  the  other  inmates  of  said  state  schools  shall  be  com- 
mitted thereto.  No  person  shall  be  committed  to  said  state 
schools  unless  the  judge  of  said  court  shall  be  fully  satisfied 
that  the  mental  and  physical  condition  and  qualifications  of 
said  person  are  such  as  to  render  it  probable  that  such  person 
will  be  benefitted  by  the  reformatory  educational  discipline  of 
such  schools. 

Sec.  21.  Any  order  providing  for  the  custody  of  a  depend- 
ent or  delinquent  person  may  provide  that  the  expense  of  main- 
taining such  person  shall  be  paid  by  the  parent  or  parents  or 
guardian  of  such  person,  and  in  such  case  shall  state  the  amount 
to  be  so  paid,  and  shall  determine  whether  or  not  the  parent 
or  parents  or  guardian  shall  exercise  any  control  of  said  per- 
son, and  define  the  extent  thereof.  Any  disobedience  of  such 
order  or  interference  with  the  custody  of  the  person  as  therein 
determined  shall  constitute  a  contempt  of  court. 

If  it  be  found,  however,  that  the  parent  or  parents  or  guard- 
ian of  a  dependent  or  delinquent  person  is  unable  to  pay  the 
whole  expense  of  maintaining  such  person,  the  court  may,  in 
the  order  providing  for  the  custody  of  such  person,  direct  such 
additional  amount  as  may  be  necessary  to  support  such  person 
to  be  paid  from  the  county  treasury  of  the  county  for  the  sup- 
port of  such  person,  the  amount  so  ordered  to  be  paid  from  the 
treasury  of  said  county  not  to  exceed,  in  case  of  any  one  person 
the  sum  of  eleven  dollars  per  month ;  provided,  further,  that 
no  order  for  the  payment  of  all  or  part  of  the  expense  of  sup- 
port and  maintenance  of  a  dependent  or  delinquent  person  from 
the  county  treasury  shall  be  effective  for  more  than  six  months, 
unless  a  new  order  is  secured  at  the  expiration  of  that  period. 

The  court  may  thereafter  set  aside,  change  or  modify  any 
order  herein  provided  for. 

Sec.  22.     Any  order  made  by  the  court  in  case  of  a  depend- 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  145 

ent  or  delinquent  person  may  at  any  time  be  changed,  modified 
or  set  aside  as  to  the  judge  may  seem  meet  and  proper. 

Sec.  23.  Any  person  may  have  a  private  hearing  upon  the 
question  of  his  dependency  or  delinquency,  and  upon  the  re- 
quest of  said  person  or  either  of  his  parents  or  guardian,  such 
hearing  may  be  had  privately  in  the  manner  provided  by  law 
for  private  hearings  at  preliminary  examinations.  An  order 
of  court  adjudging  a  person  dependent  or  delinquent  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act  shall  in  no  case  be  deemed  to  be  a  con- 
viction of  crime. 

Sec.  24.  No  court,  judge,  magistrate  or  peace  officer  shall 
commit  a  person  under  sixteen  years  of  age  to  any  jail  or 
prison,  before  trial  and  conviction,  but  if  any  such  person  is 
not  released  pending  such  hearing,  he  may  be  committed  to 
the  care  and  custody  of  a  sheriff,  constable  or  other  peace  officer 
who  shall  keep  such  person  in  a  detention  home  or  some  other 
suitable  place  outside  of  the  enclosure  of  any  jail  or  prison,  as  the 
court  may  direct.  When  any  person  under  sixteen  years  of  age 
shall  be  sentenced  to  confinement  in  any  institution  to  which 
adult  convicts  or  prisoners  are  sentenced  or  confined,  it  shall  be 
unlawful  to  confine  such  persons  in  the  same  room,  yard  or  en- 
closure with  such  adult  convicts  or  prisoners,  or  to  permit  such 
person  to  come  or  remain  in  contact  with  such  adult  convicts 
or  prisoners. 

Sec.  25.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  legislative  body  of  every 
county,  or  city  and  county,  immediately  upon  this  act  becoming 
effective,  to  provide  and  thereafter  maintain,  at  the  expense 
of  such  county,  or  city  and  county,  in  a  location  approved  by 
the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court,  a  suitable  house  or  place  to  be 
known  as  the  "detention  home"  of  said  county,  or  city  and 
county,  for  the  detention  of  dependent  and  delinquent  persons. 
Such  detention  home  must  not  be  in,  or  connected  with,  any 
jail  or  prison,  and  shall  be  conducted  in  all  respects  as  nearly 
like  a  home  as  possible  and  shall  not  be  deemed  to  be  or  treated 
as  a  penal  institution.  Such  legislative  body  must  also  provide 
for  a  suitable  superintendent  and  matron  to  have  charge  of  such 
detention  home,  and  for  such  other  employees  as  may  be  needed 
in  the  efficient  management  of  such  detention  home,  and  pro- 
vide for  the  payment,  out  of  the  general  fund  of  the  county,  or 
city  and  county,  of  suitable  salaries  for  such  superintendent  and 
matron,  and  such  other  employees,  such  superintendent,  matron 
and  other  employees  to  be  appointed  by  said  legislative  body, 
upon  the  nomination  of  the  probation  committee  and  approval 
of  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court.  The  superintendent,  matron 


146  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

or  other  employee  for  such  detention  home  may,  at  any  time,  be 
removed  by  the  probation  committee,  in  its  discretion. 

Sec.  26.  In  all  cases  where  any  child  shall  be  dependent 
or  delinquent  under  the  terms  of  this  act,  the  parent  or  parents, 
legal  guardian  or  person  having  the  custody  of  such  person  or 
any  other  person  who  shall,  by  any  act  or  omission,  encourage, 
cause  or  contribute  to  the  dependency  or  delinquency  of  such 
person  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and,  upon  conviction 
thereof,  shall  be  punished  by  fine  not  exceeding  one  thousand 
dollars  or  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail  for  not  more  than 
one  year  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment,  and  the 
juvenile  court  shall  have  jurisdiction  of  all  such  misdemeanors; 
provided,  however,  that  the  court  may  suspend  sentence  for  a 
violation  of  the  provisions  of  this  section  and  impose  conditions 
as  to  the  conduct,  in  the  premises,  of  any  person  so  convicted, 
and  make  such  suspension  to  depend  upon  the  fulfillment  by 
such  person  of  such  conditions,  and,  in  case  of  the  breach  of 
such  conditions,  or  any  thereof,  the  court  may  impose  sentence 
as  though  there  had  been  no  such  suspension.  The  court  may 
also,  as  a  condition  of  such  suspension,  require  a  bond  in  such 
sum  as  the  court  may  designate,  to  be  approved  by  the  judge 
requiring  same,  to  secure  the  performance  by  such  person  of 
the  conditions  imposed  by  the  court  on  such  suspension.  Such 
bond  shall  by  its  terms  be  made  payable  to  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia, and  any  moneys  received  for  a  breach  thereof  shall  be 
paid  into  the  county  treasury. 

Sec.  27.  This  act  shall  be  liberally  construed  to  the  end 
that  its  purpose  may  be  carried  out,  to  wit:  That  the  care, 
custody  and  discipline  of  a  dependent  or  delinquent  person  as 
defined  in  this  act  shall  approximate  as  nearly  as  may  be  that 
which  should  be  given  by  his  parents,  and  in  all  cases  where  it 
can  be  properly  done,  the  dependent  or  delinquent  person  as 
defined  in  this  act  shall  be  placed  in  an  approved  family,  with 
people  of  the  same  religious  belief,  and  become  a  member  of 
the  family,  by  legal  adoption  or  otherwise.  Xo  dependent  or 
delinquent  person  as  defined  in  this  act  shall  be  taken  from  the 
custody  of  his  parent  or  legal  guardian,  without  the  consent 
of  such  parent  or  guardian,  unless  the  court  shall  find  such 
parent  or  guardian  to  be  incapable,  or  has  failed  or  neglected 
to  provide  proper  maintenance,  training  and  education  for  said 
person ;  or  unless  said  person  has  been  tried  on  probation  in 
said  custody,  and  has  failed  to  reform,  or  unless  the  court  shall 
find  that  the  welfare  of  said  person  requires  his  custody  shall 
be  taken  from  said  parent  or  guardian. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  147 

In  this  act,  words  used  in  any  gender  shall  include  all  other 
genders,  and  the  word  "county"  shall  include  "city  and  county," 
the  plural  shall  include  the  singular  and  the  singular  shall  include 
the  plural. 

Sec.  28.  This  act  shall  supersede  all  provisions  of  the  act 
entitled:  "An  act  to  establish  a  state  reform  school  for  juvenile 
offenders,  and  to  make  an  appropriation  therefor,"  approved 
March  11,  1889,  and  all  amendments  thereto,  and  all  provisions 
of  the  act  entitled :  "An  act  to  establish  a  school  of  industry 
and  to  provide  for  the  maintenance  and  management  of  same, 
and  to  make  an  appropriation  therefor,"  approved  March  11, 
1889,  and  all  amendments  thereto  relating  to  the  mode  of  com- 
mitments to  the  institutions  therein  named  ;  but  said  acts  shall 
control  as  to  all  matters  concerning  the  management  of  said 
institutions,  respectively. 

Sec.  29.  An  act  entitled  :  "An  act  defining  and  providing 
for  the  control,  protection  and  treatment  of  dependent  and 
delinquent  children ;  prescribing  the  powers  and  duties  of 
courts  with  respect  thereto;  providing  for  the  appointment  of 
probation  officers,  and  prescribing  their  duties  and  powers ; 
providing  for  the  separation  of  children  from  adults  when  con- 
fined in  jails  or  other  institutions;  providing  for  the  appoint- 
ment of  boards  to  investigate  the  qualifications  of  organizations 
receiving  children  under  this  act  and  prescribing  the  duties  of 
such  boards ;  and  providing  when  proceedings  under  this  act 
shall  be  admissible  in  evidence,"  approved  February  26,  1903  ; 
and  the  amendments  thereto  approved  March  22,  1905,  and 
March  27,  1907,  are  hereby  repealed;  provided,  however,  that 
all  orders  and  judgments  made  heretofore  under  said  act  shall 
continue  in  full  force  and  effect,  and  that  the  court  shall  retain 
jurisdiction  of  all  children  heretofore  declared  dependent  or 
delinquent,  and  such  children  shall  be  hereafter  dealt  with  in 
the  same  manner  as  if  such  orders  had  been  made  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  and  all  proceedings  now  pending  shall  be 
continued  under  the  provisions  of  this  act.  All  children  now 
on  probation  from  justice  courts  shall  remain  on  probation  for 
the  period  fixed  in  the  judgment,  and  it"  required  may  be  certi- 
fied to  the  Superior  Court  in  the  manner  in  said  act  provided. 
When  so  certified  the  said  certificate  shall  be  dealt  with  in  the 
same  manner  as  herein  provided  tor  a  petition  alleging  delin- 
quency. 

Sec.  2.     This  act  shall  take  effect   immediately. 


Laws  Pertaining  to  the  Employment 
of  Children 


Child  Labor  Law. 

"An  act  regulating  the  employment  and  hours  of  labor  of  chil- 
dren, prohibiting  the  employment  of  minors  under  certain 
ages,  prohibiting  the  employment  of  certain  illiterate  minors, 
providing  for  the  enforcement  hereof  by  the  commissioner 
of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics,  and  providing  penalties  for 
the  violation  hereof,"  approved  February  20,  1905,  approved 
April  14,  1911,  as  amended,  S'ats.  of  1911,  Chap.  456. 

The  people  of  the  State  of  California,  represented  in  senate  and 
assembly,  do  enact  as  follows : 

Section  1.  No  minor  under  the  age  of  eighteen  shall  be 
employed  in  laboring  in  any  manufacturing,  mechanical,  or  mer- 
cantile establishment,  or  other  place  of  labor,  more  than  nine 
hours  in  one  day,  except  when  it  is  necessary  to  make  repairs 
to  prevent  the  interruption  of  the  ordinary  running  of  the  ma- 
chinery, or  when  a  different  apportionment  of  the  hours  of 
labor  is  made  for  the  sole  purpose  of  making  a  shorter  day's 
work  for  one  day  of  the  week,  and  in  no  case  shall  the  hours  of 
labor  exceed  fifty-four  hours  in  a  week. 

Sec.  2.  Xo  minor  under  the  age  of  eighteen  years  shall  be 
employed  or  permitted  to  work  between  the  hours  of  ten  o'clock 
in  the  evening  and  five  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

No  child  under  fifteen  years  of  age  shall  be  employed  in  any 
mercantile  institution,  office,  laundry,  manufacturing  establish- 
ment, workshop,  place  of  amusement,  restaurant,  hotel,  apart- 
ment house,  or  in  the  distribution  or  transmission  of  merchan- 
dise or  messages;  provided,  that  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court 
of  the  county,  or  city  and  county,  or  in  any  county  or  city  and 
county  in  which  there  is  no  juvenile  court,  then  any  judge  of 
the  Superior  Court  of  the  county  or  city  and  county  in  which 
such  child  resides  shall  have  authority  to  issue  a  permit  to  work 
to  any  such  child  over  the  age  of  twelve  years,  upon  a  sworn 
statement  being  made  to  him  by  the  parent  of  such  child  that 
such  child  is  past  the  age  of  twelve  years,  that  the  parents  or 
parent  of  such  child  are  incapacitated  for  labor,  through  illness, 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  149 


and  after  investigation  by  a  probation  officer  or  attendance  of- 
ficer of  the  city,  or  city  and  county,  in  which  such  child  resides, 
or  in  cities  and  counties  where  there  are  no  probation  or  attend- 
ance officers,  then  by  such  other  competent  person  as  the  judge 
may  designate  for  this  purpose.  The  permit  so  issued  shall 
specify  the  kind  of  labor  and  the  time  for  which  it  is  issued, 
and  shall  in  no  case  be  issued  for  a  longer  period  than  shall 
seem  necessary  to  the  judge  issuing  such  permit.  Such  permit 
shall  be  kept  on  file  by  the  person,  firm  or  corporation  employ- 
ing the  child  therein  designated,  during  the  term  of  said  em- 
ployment, and  shall  be  given  up  to  such  child  upon  his  quitting 
such  employment.  Such  certificate  shall  be  always  open  to 
the  inspection  of  the  attendance  and  probation  officers  of  the 
city  and  county,  city  or  county,  in  which  the  place  of  employ- 
ment is  situated,  or  of  the  officers  of  the  state  bureau  of  labor 
statistics ;  and  provided,  that  the  atendance  officer  of  any  county, 
city  and  county,  or  school  district  in  which  any  place  of  em- 
ployment, in  this  section  named,  is  situated,  shall  have  the  right 
and  authority,  at  all  times  to  enter  into  any  such  place  of  em- 
ployment for  the  purpose  of  investigating  violations  of  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  or  violations  of  the  provisions  of  an  act 
entitled  "An  act  to  enforce  the  educational  rights  of  children 
and  providing  penalties  for  the  violation  of  the  act,"  approved 
March  24,  1903,  and  amended  March  20,  1905;  provided,  how- 
ever, that  if  such  attendance  or  probation  officer  is  denied 
entrance  to  such  place  of  employment,  any  magistrate  may, 
upon  the  filing  of  an  affidavit  by  such  attendance  or  probation 
officer  setting  forth  the  fact  that  he  has  a  good  cause  to  believe 
that  the  provisions  of  this  act,  or  the  act  hereinbefore  referred 
to,  are  being  violated  in  such  place  of  employment,  issue  an 
order  directing  such  attendance  or  probation  officer  to  enter 
said  place  of  employment  for  the  purpose  of  making  such  inves- 
tigations ;  and  provided,  that  any  such  child  over  the  age  of 
twelve  years  may  be  employed  at  any  of  the  occupations  men- 
tioned in  this  act  during  the  regular  vacation  of  the  public 
schools  of  the  city,  county,  or  city  and  county,  in  which  the 
place  of  employment  is  situated,  upon  the  production  of  a 
permit  signed  by  the  principal,  vice-principal  of  the  school,  or 
secretary  of  the  board  of  school  trustees  or  board  of  education 
of  the  school  which  such  child  has  attended  during  the  term 
next  preceding  any  such  vacation.  Such  permit  shall  contain 
the  name  and  age  of  the  child  to  whom  it  is  issued,  and  the  date 
of  the  termination  of  the  vacation  for  which  it  is  issued  ;  and 
shall  be  kept  on  file  by  the  employer  during  the  period  of 


150  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

employment,  and  at  the  termination  of  such  employment  shall 
be  returned  to  the  child  to  whom  it  was  issued.  No  minor  who 
is  under  sixteen  years  of  age  shall  be  employed  or  permitted  to 
work  at  any  gainful  occupation  during  the  hours  that  the  public 
schools  of  the  city,  town  or  school  district  in  which  his  place  of 
employment  is  situated  are  in  session,  unless  he  or  she  can  read 
English  at  sight  and  can  write  legibly  and  correctly  simple 
English  sentences,  or  unless  he  or  she  is  a  regular  attendant 
for  the  then  current  term  at  a  regularly  conducted  night  school. 
A  certificate  of  the  principal  of  such  school  shall  be  held  to  be 
sufficient  evidence  of  such  attendance. 

Sec.  3.  Every  person,  firm  or  corporation  employing  minors 
under  eighteen  years  of  age,  in  any  manufacturing  establish- 
ment, shall  post,  and  keep  posted,  in  a  conspicuous  place  in 
every  room  where  such  help  is  employed,  a  written  or  printed 
notice  stating  the  number  of  hours  per  day  for  each  day  of  the 
week  required  of  such  persons.  Every  person,  firm,  or  copora- 
tion,  agent  or  officer  of  a  firm  or  corporation,  employing  or 
permitting  minors  under  sixteen  and  over  fifteen  years  of  age  to 
work  in  any  mercantile  institution,  office,  laundry,  manufactur- 
ing establishment,  workshop,  place  of  amusement,  restaurant, 
hotel,  apartment  house,  or  in  the  distribution  or  transmission  of 
merchandise  or  messages,  shall  keep  a  record  of  the  names,  ages, 
and  places  of  residence  of  such  minors,  and  shall  have  on  file  a 
certificate  of  age  and  schooling,  as  provided  in  this  act,  for 
every  such  minor  so  employed,  said  record  and  certificate  to  be 
open  at  all  times  to  the  inspection  of  the  school  attendance  and 
probation  officers  of  the  city  and  county,  city,  or  county,  in 
which  the  place  of  employment  is  situated,  or  of  the  officers  of 
the  state  bureau  of  labor  statistics. 

An  age  and  schooling  certificate  shall  be  approved  only  by 
the  superintendent  of  schools  of  the  city  or  city  and  county,  or 
by  a  person  authorized  by  him  in  writing,  or  where  there  is  no 
city  or  city  and  county  superintendent  of  schools,  by  a  person 
authorized  by  the  local  school  trustees  ;  provided,  that  the  super- 
intendent or  principal  of  any  school  of  recognized  standing 
shall  have  the  right  to  approve  an  age  and  schooling  certificate, 
and  shall  have  the  same  rights  and  powers  as  the  superintendent 
of  public  schools  to  issue  the  certificate  herein  provided,  for 
children  attending  such  schools.  The  persons  authorized  to 
issue  age  and  schooling  certificates  shall  have  the  authority  to 
administer  the  oaths  necessary  for  carrying  out  the  provisions 
of  this  act,  but  no  fees  shall  be  charged  for  issuing  such  certifi- 
cates. An  age  and  schooling  certificate  shall  not  be  approved 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  151 

unless  satisfactory  evidence  is  furnished  by  the  last  school  cen- 
sus, the  certificate  of  birth  or  baptism  of  such  child,  the  public 
register  of  birth  of  such  child,  or  in  some  other  manner,  that 
such  child  is  of  the  age  stated  in  such  certificate. 

A  duplicate  copy  of  each  age  and  schooling  certificate  grant- 
ed under  the  provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  kept  by  the  person 
issuing  such  certificate,  such  copy  to  be  filed  with  the  county 
superintendent  of  schools  in  the  county  where  the  certificate  is 
issued ;  provided,  that  all  such  copies  of  certificates  issued  be- 
tween June  25th  and  December  25th  of  any  year  shall  be  filed 
not  later  than  December  31st  of  such  year;  and  those  issued  be- 
tween December  25th  and  June  25th  of  the  ensuing  year  shall 
be  filed  not  later  than  June  30th  of  each  year.  Such  certificates 
shall  be  substantially  in  the  following  form,  to  wit : 

Age  and  Schooling  Certificate. — This  certifies  that  I  am  the 
(father,  mother,  or  guardian)  of  (name  of  child),  and  that 
(he  or  she)  was  born  at  (name  of  town  or  city),  in  the  county 
of  (name  of  county)  (if  known),  and  state  (or  country)  of 
(name),  on  the  the  (day  and  year  of  birth),  and  is  now  (number 
of  years  and  of  months)  old. 

Signature  as  provided  in  this  act. 

Town  or  city,  and  date. 

There  personally  appeared  before  me  the  above  named  (name 
of  person  signing),  and  made  oath  that  the  following  certificate 
by  (him  or  her)  signed  is  true  to  the  best  of  (his  or  her)  knowl- 
edge and  belief. 

I  hereby  approve  the  foregoing  certificate  of  (name  of  child), 
height  (feet  and  inches),  complexion  (fair  or  dark),  hair 
(color),  having  no  sufficient  reason  to  doubt  that  (he  or  she)  is 
of  the  age  therein  certified,  and  I  hereby  certify  that  (he  or 
she)  (can  or  can  not)  read  English  at  sight,  and  (can  or  can 
not)  write  legibly  simple  sentences  in  the  English  language. 
There  is  hereto  attached  a  written  request  from  the  prospective 
employer  of  such  child,  that  an  age  and  schooling  certificate  be 
granted  to  such  child. 

Signature  of  the  person  authorized  to  sign,  with  his  official 
character  and  authority. 

Town  or  city  and  date. 

This  certificate  belongs  to  the  person  in  whose  behall  it  is 
drawn,  and  it  shall  be  presented  to  (him  or  her)  whenever  (he 
or  she)  leaves  the  services  of  the  person,  firm,  or  corporation 
holding  the  same. 

The  certificate  as  to  the  birthplace  and  age  of  the  minor  un- 
der sixteen  and  over  fifteen  vears  of  age  shall  be  signed  by  his 


152  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

father,  his  mother,  or  his  guardian ;  if  a  child  has  no  father, 
mother,  or  guardian  living  in  the  same  city  or  town,  his  own 
signature  to  the  certificate  may  be  accepted  by  the  person 
authorixed  to  approve  the  same.  Every  person  authorized  to 
sign  the  certificate  prescribed  by  this  act,  who  knowingly  certi- 
fies to  any  false  statement  therein,  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor, 
and  upon  conviction  thereof  shall  be  fined  not  less  than  five  nor 
more  than  fifty  dollars,  or  imprisonment  not  more  than  thirty 
days,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment.  The  county  super- 
intendent of  schools  of  each  county  shall  file  with  the  com- 
missioner of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  a  report  showing  the 
number  of  age  and  schooling  certificates  issued  to  male  and 
female  minors,  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  such  other  detailed 
information  as  the  commissioner  may  require.  Said  report  to 
be  filed  during  the  month  of  January  and  July  of  each  year 
for  the  preceding  six  months,  ending  June  25th  and  December 
25th  of  each  year,  and  cover  certificates  issued  during  said  periods 
and  on  file  in  the  office  of  the  county  superintendent  of  schools 
as  described  in  paragraph  five  of  this  section. 

Sec.  3a.  Provided,  however,  that  no  child  having  a  permit 
to  work,  as  prescribed  in  section  two  of  this  act,  and  no  child 
having  an  age  and  schooling  certificate,  as  described  in  section 
three  of  this  act,  and  no  other  child,  between  the  ages  of  fifteen 
and  sixteen  years,  who,  if  between  the  ages  of  eight  and  fifteen 
years,  would  by  law  be  required  to  attend  school,  shall,  while 
the  public  schools  are  in  session,  be  and  remain  idle  and  unem- 
ployed for  a  period  longer  than  two  weeks,  but  must  enroll  and 
attend  school;  provided,  that  within  one  week  after  any  child 
having  such  a  permit  to  work  or  such  age  and  schooling  cer- 
tificate shall  have  ceased  to  be  employed  by  any  employer,  such 
employer  shall,  in  writing,  giving  the  latest  correct  address  of 
such  child  known  to  such  employer,  notify,  in  the  case  of  a  child 
having  a  permit  to  work,  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  in  the 
'county  of  said  child's  residence,  or  the  probation  officer  of  such 
juvenile  court,  or  in  the  case  of  a  child  having  an  age  and 
schooling  certificate,  the  county  superintendent  of  schools  of 
such  county,  that  such  child  is  no  longer  employed  by  such 
employer;  and  such  judge  of  the  juvenile  court,  or  such  proba- 
tion officer,  or  such  county  superintendent  of  schools,  shall 
thereupon  immediately  notify  the  attendance  officer  having  juris- 
diction in  the  place  of  such  child's  residence,  giving  the  said 
latest  correct  address  of  such  child,  that  such  child  is  neither 
at  work  nor  in  school ;  and  provided,  further,  that  no  such  child 
shall  be  permitted  to  cease  school  attendance,  without  securing 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  153 

a  permit  to  work,  or  an   age  and  schooling  certificate  as  pro- 
vided in  this  act. 

Sec.  4.  Any  person,  firm,  corporation,  agent,  or  officer  of  a 
firm  or  corporation  that  violates  or  omits  to  comply  with  any  of 
the  foregoing  provisions  of  this  act,  or  that  employs  or  suffers 
or  permits  any  minor  to  be  employed  in  violation  thereof,  is 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  shall,  upon  conviction  thereof,  be 
punished  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than  fifty  dollars  or  more  than 
two  hundred  dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  for  not  more  than 
sixty  days,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment  for  each  and 
every  offense.  A  failure  to  produce  any  age  and  schooling  cer- 
tificate or  permit  or  to  post  any  notice  required  by  this  act,  shall 
be  prima  facie  evidence  of  the  illegal  employment  of  any  person 
whose  age  and  schooling  certificate  or  permit  is  not  produced, 
or  whose  name  is  not  so  posted.  Any  fine  collected  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act  shall  be  paid  into  the  school  funds  of  the 
county,  or  city,  or  city  and  county  in  which  the  offense  oc- 
curred ;  except  such  fines  imposed  and  collected  as  the  result  of 
prosecutions  by  the  officers  of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics.  In 
such  cases  one  half  of  the  resultant  fine  or  fines  shall  be  paid 
into  the  state  treasury  and  credited  to  the  contingent  fund  of 
the  bureau  of  labor  statistics,  and  one  half  paid  into  the  school 
funds  of  the  county,  or  city,  or  city  and  county  in  which  the 
offense  occurred. 

Sec.  5.  Nothing  in  this  act  shall  be  construed  to  prohibit  the 
employment  of  minors  at  agricultural,  horticultural,  or  viti- 
cultural  or  domestic  labor  during  the  time  the  public  schools 
are  not  in  session,  or  during  other  than  school  hours.  Xor  shall 
anything  in  this  act  be  construed  to  prohibit  any  child  between 
the  ages  of  fifteen  and  eighteen  years,  who  is  by  any  statute  or 
statutes  of  the  State  of  California,  now  or  hereafter  in  force, 
permitted  to  be  employed  as  an  actor,  or  actress,  or  performer, 
in  a  theater,  or  other  place  of  amusement,  previous  to  the  hour 
of  ten  o'clock  p.m.,  in  the  presentation  of  a  performance,  play 
or  drama,  continuing  from  an  earlier  hour  till  after  the  hour 
of  ten  o'clock  p.m.,  from  performing  his  or  her  part  in  such 
presentation  as  such  employee  between  the  hours  of  ten  and 
twelve  o'clock  p.m. 

Sec.  6.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics 
to  enforce  the  provisions  of  this  act.  The  commissioner,  his 
deputies,  and  agents,  shall  have  all  powers  and  authority  of 
sheriffs  to  make  arrests  for  violations  of  the  provisions  of  this 
act. 


154  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


FORBIDDEN  EMPLOYMENTS. 


PENAL  CODE. 
CERTAIN  EMPLOYMENTS  OF  CHILDREN  FORBIDDEN 

Sec.  272.  Any  person,  whether  as  parent,  relative,  guardian, 
employer,  or  otherwise,  having  the  care,  custody,  or  control  of 
any  child  under  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  who  exhibits,  uses,  or 
employs,  or  in  any  manner,  or  under  any  pretense,  sells,  appren- 
tices, gives  away,  lets  out,  or  disposes  of  any  such  child  to  any 
person,  under  any  name,  title,  or  pretense,  for  or  in  any  busi- 
ness, exhibition,  or  vocation,  injurious  to  the  health  or  danger- 
ous to  the  life  or  limb  of  such  child,  or  in  or  for  the  vocation, 
occupation,  service,  or  purpose  of  singing,  playing  on  musical 
instruments,  rope  or  wire  walking,  dancing,  begging,  or  ped- 
dling, or  as  a  gymnast,  acrobat,  contortionist,  or  rider,  in  any 
place  whatsoever,  or  for  or  in  any  obscene,  indecent  or  immoral 
purposes,  exhibition,  or  practice  whatsoever,  or  for  or  in  any 
mendicant  or  wandering  business  whatsoever,  or  who  causes, 
procures,  or  encourages  such  child  to  engage  therein,  is  guilty 
of  a  misdemeanor,  and  punishable  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than 
fifty  nor  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  or  by  im- 
prisonment in  the  county  jail  for  a  term  not  exceeding  six 
months,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  imprisonment.  Nothing  in 
this  section  contained  applies  to  or  affects  the  employment  or 
use  of  any  such  child,  as  a  singer  or  musician  in  any  church, 
school,  or  academy,  or  the  teaching  or  learning  of  the  science 
or  practice  of  music  :  or  the  employment  of  any  child  as  a  mu- 
sician at  any  concert  or  other  musical  entertainment,  on  the 
written  consent  of  the  mayor  of  the  city  or  president  of  the 
board  of  trustees  of  the  city  or  town  where  such  concert  or 
entertainment  takes  place. 

This  section  is  constitutional :  86  Pac.  Rep.  809. 

Sec.  273.  Every  person  who  takes,  receives,  hires,  employs, 
uses,  exhibits,  or  has  in  custody,  an}-  child  under  the  age,  and 
for  any  of  the  purposes  mentioned  in  the  preceding  section,  is 
guilty  of  a  like  offense,  and  punishable  by  a  like  punishment  as 
therein  provided. 

Sec.  273e.  Kvery  telephone,  special  delivery  company  or 
association,  and  every  other  corporation  or  person  engaged  in 
the  delivery  of  packages,  letters,  notes,  messages,  or  other  mat- 
ter, and  every  manager,  superintendent,  or  other  agent  of  such 
person,  corporation,  or  association,  who  sends  any  minor  in  the 
employ  or  under  the  control  of  any  such  person,  corporation, 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  155 

association,  or  agent,  to  the  keeper  of  any  house  of  prostitution, 
variety  theater,  or  other  place  of  questionable  repute,  or  to  any 
person  connected  with  or  any  inmate  of,  such  house,  theater,  or 
other  place,  or  who  permits  such  minor  to  enter  such  house, 
theater,  or  other  place,  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 

Sec.  273f  (added  by  chapter  294,  acts  of  1907).  Any  person, 
whether  as  parent,  guardian,  employer,  or  otherwise,  and  any 
firm  or  corporation,  who  as  employer  or  otherwise,  shall  send, 
direct,  or  cause  to  be  sent  or  directed  to  any  saloon,  gambling 
house,  house  of  prostitution,  or  other  immoral  place,  any  minor 
under  the  age  of  eighteen,  is  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor. 

VENDING  AT  NIGHT. 


An  act  to  prohibit  minors  under  the  age  of  eighteen  years  to 
vend  and  sell  goods,  engage  in,  or  conduct  any  business 
between  the  hours  of  ten  oclock  in  the  evening  and  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  providing  penalties  for  violations 
thereof,  approved  May  1,  1911. 

The  people  of  the  State  of  California,  represented  in  senate  and 
assembly,  do  enact  as  follows: 

Section  1.  It  shall  be  unlawful  for  any  minor  under  the  age 
of  eighteen  years  to  vend  and  sell  goods,  engage  in,  or  conduct 
any  business  between  the  hours  of  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening  and 
five  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

Sec.  2.  Any  person  violating  any  of  the  provisions  of  this 
act  shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor  and  shall,  upon  conviction 
thereof,  be  punished  by  a  fine  of  not  more  than  twenty  dollars, 
or  by  imprisonment  for  not  more  than  ten  days,  or  by  both  such 
fine  and  imprisonment  for  each  offense. 

COMPULSORY  EDUCATION  LAW. 


An  act  to  enforce  the  educational  rights  of  children  and  provid- 
ing penalties  for  violation  of  the  act,  approved  March  24. 
1903,  and  as  amended  by  act  approved  March  20,  1905,  and 
as  amended  by  act  approved  April  21.  1911. 

The  people  of  the  State  of  California,  represented  in  senate  and 
assembly,  do  enact  as  follows : 

Each  Child  Must  Attend  School. 

Section    1    (as    amended,    Stats.    I'Ml,    Chap.    482).      Unless 
excused,  as  hereinafter  provided,  each  parent,  guardian,  or  other 


156  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


person,  in  the  State  of  California,  having1  control  or  charge  of 
any  child  between  the  ages  of  eight  and  fifteen  years,  shall  be 
required  to  send  such  child  to  a  public  school,  during  the  time 
in  which  a  public  school  shall  be  in  session,  in  the  city  or  city 
and  county  or  School  district  in  which  said  child  resides;  pro- 
vided, that  should  it  be  shown  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  board 
of  education  of  the  city  or  city  and  county,  or  of  the  board  of 
trustees  of  the  school  district,  in  which  such  child  resides,  that 
the  child's  bodily  or  mental  condition  is  such  as  to  prevent 
or  render  inadvisable  attendance  at  school  or  application  to 
study,  a  certificate  from  any  reputable  physician  that  the  child 
is  not  able  to  attend  school,  or  that  its  attendance  is  inadvis- 
able, must  be  taken  as  satisfactory  evidence  by  any  such  board, 
or  that  such  child  is  being  taught  in  a  private  school,  or  by 
a  private  tutor,  or  at  home  by  any  person  capable  of  teach- 
ing, in  such  branches  as  are  usually  taught  in  the  primary  and 
grammar  schools  of  this  state;  or  that  any  such  child  between 
the  age  of  twelve  and  fifteen  has  been  given  a  permit  to  work 
by  the  proper  judicial  officers  in  accordance  with  section  two 
of  "An  act  regulating  the  employment  and  hours  of  labor  of 
children,  prohibiting  the  employment  of  minors  under  certain 
ages,  prohibiting  the  employment  of  certain  illiterate  minors, 
providing  for  the  enforcement  hereof  by  the  commissioner  of 
the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  and  providing  penalties '  for  the 
violation  hereof  approved  February  20,  1905  ;  or  that  no  public 
school  is  located  within  two  miles,  by  the  nearest  traveled  road, 
of  the  residence  of  the  child  :  or  that  the  child  has  completed 
the  prescribed  grammar  school  course  ;  then  it  shall  be  the  duty 
of  such  board  of  education  or  board  of  trustees,  upon  applica- 
tion of  the  parent,  or  guardian,  or  other  person  having  control 
or  charge  of  such  child,  to  excuse  such  child  from  attendance 
at  school,  during  the  continuance  of  such  defect  or  condition 
upon  which  such  excuse  is  granted;  and  provided,  further,  that 
circumstances  rendering  attendance  impracticable  or  dangerous 
to  health,  owing  to  unusual  storm  or  other  sufficient  cause,  shall 
work  an  exemption  from  the  penalties  of  this  act.  If  any  par- 
ent or  guardian  or  other  person  having  control  or  charge  of 
any  such  child  presents  proof  to  such  board  of  education  or 
board  of  trustees,  by  affidavit,  that  he  is  unable  to  compel  such 
child  to  attend  school,  said  parent,  guardian  or  other  person 
shall  be  exempt  from  the  penalties  of  this  act,  as  regards  the 
subsequent  non-attendance  at  school  of  such  child,  and  said 
child  may,  in  the  discretion  of  such  board,  be  deemed  a  truant 
and  subject  to  assignment  to  the  parental  school. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  J57 

Penalty  for  Failure  to  Send  Child  to  School. 

Sec.  2.  Any  parent,  guardian,  or  other  person  having  con- 
trol or  charge  of  any  such  child,  who  shall  fail  to  comply  with 
the  provisions  of  this  act,  shall,  unless  excused  or  exempted 
therefrom  as  hereinbefore  provided,  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  mis- 
demeanor, and  upon  conviction,  shall  be  liable,  for  the  first 
offense,  to  a  fine  of  not  more  than  ten  dollars  or  to  imprison- 
ment for  not  more  than  five  days,  and  for  each  subsequent 
offense  he  shall  be  liable  to  a  fine  of  not  less  than  ten  nor  more 
than  fifty  dollars,  or  to  imprisonment  for  not  less  than  five 
days  nor  more  than  twenty-five  days,  or  to  both  such  fine  and 
imprisonment. 

Investigation  Provided  For. 

Sec.  3  (as  amended,  Stats,  of  1907,  pp.  95,  96)..  The  board 
of  education  of  any  city  or  city  and  county,  or  the  board  of 
trustees  of  any  school  district,  shall,  on  the  complaint  of  any 
person,  make  full  and  impartial  investigation  of  all  charges 
against  parents  or  guardians  or  other  persons  having  control 
or  charge  of  any  such  child,  for  violation  of  any  of  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act.  If  it  shall  appear  upon  such  investigation 
that  any  such  parent  or  guardian  or  other  person  has  violated 
any  of  the  provisions  of  this  act,  it  is  hereby  made  the  duty  of 
the  secretary  of  such  board  of  education,  except  as  hereinafter 
provided,  or  the  clerk  of  such  board  of  trustees,  to  make  and 
file  in  the  proper  court  a  criminal  complaint  against  such  par- 
ent, guardian  or  other  person,  charging  such  violation,  and  to 
see  that  such  charge  is  prosecuted  by  the  proper  authorities ; 
provided,  that  in  cities,  and  in  cities  and  counties,  and  in  school 
districts  having  an  attendance  officer  or  officers,  such  officer  or 
officers  shall,  under  the  direction  of  the  board  of  education,  or 
the  city  superintendent  of  schools,  or  the  board  of  trustees, 
make  and  file  such  complaint,  and  see  that  such  charge  is  prose- 
cuted by  the  proper  authorities. 

Attendance  Officer. 

Sec.  4  (as  amended,  Stats.  1907,  pp.  96).  The  board  of 
education  of  any  city,  or  city  and  county,  may  appoint  and 
remove  at  pleasure  one  or  more  attendance  officers  of  such  city, 
or  city  and  county,  or  the  board  of  trustees  of  any  school  dis- 
trict having  at  least  six  hundred  census  children,  may  appoint 
and  remove  at  pleasure  one  attendance  officer,  and  shall  fix  his 
or  their  compensation,  not  exceeding  one  thousand  dollars  per 
annum  for  any  such  officer,  payable  from  the  county  or  special 
school  fund  of  such  city,  city  and  county,  or  school  district,  and 


158  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

shall  prescribe  their  duties,  not  inconsistent  with  law,  and  make 
rules  and  regulations  for  the  performance  thereof;  provided, 
that  in  any  city,  or  city  and  county,  containing  less  than  twenty 
thousand  school  census  children,  not  more  than  one  attendance 
officer  shall  be  appointed,  and  in  any  city,  or  city  and  county, 
containing  more  than  twenty  thousand  school  census  children, 
not  more  than  one  attendance  officer  shall  be  appointed  for  each 
twenty  thousand  school  census  children,  or  fraction  greater  than 
one  half  thereof. 

Commitment  of  Truant   Children  to   Parental  Schools. 

Sec.  5  (as  amended.  Stats.  1(X)7,  pp.  °Y>,  97).  It  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  attendance  officer,  or  of  any  peace  officer  or  any 
school  officer,  to  arrest  during  school  hours,  without  warrant, 
any  child  between  eight  and  fourteen  years  of  age,  found  away 
from  his  home,  and  who  has  been  reported  to  him  by  the 
teacher,  the  superintendent  of  schools,  or  other  person  con- 
nected with  the  school  department  or  schools  as  a  truant  from 
instruction  upon  which  he  is  lawfully  required  to  attend  within 
the  county,  city,  or  city  and  county,  or  school  district.  Such 
arresting  officer  shall  forthwith  deliver  the  child  so  arrested 
either  to  the  parent,  guardian  or  other  person  having  control  or 
charge  of  such  child,  or  to  the  teacher  from  whom  said  child  is 
then  a  truant,  or  if  such  child  shall  have  been  declared  an 
habitual  truant,  he  shall  bring  such  child  before  a  magistrate 
for  commitment  by  him  to  a  parental  school  as  provided  in  this 
act.  The  attendance  officer  or  other  arresting  officer  shall  re- 
port promptly  such  arrest,  and  the  disposition  made  by  him 
of  such  child  to  the  school  authorities  of  such  city,  or  city  and 
county,  or  school  district.  Any  child  may  be  reported  as  a 
truant,  in  the  meaning  of  this  act,  who  shall  have  been  absent 
from  school  without  valid  excuse  more  than  three  clays  or  tardy 
on  more  than  three  days,  any  absence  for  a  part  of  a  day  being 
regarded  as  a  tardiness.  Any  child  who  has  once  been  reported 
as  a  truant  and  who  is  again  absent  from  school,  without  valid 
excuse,  one  or  more  days,  or  tardy  on  one  or  more  days,  may 
again  be  reported  as  a  truant.  Any  child  may  be  deemed  an 
habitual  truant  who  shall  have  been  reported  as  a  truant  three 
or  more  times.  Any  child  who  has  once  been  declared  an 
habitual  truant  and  who.  in  a  succeeding  year,  is  reported  as  a 
truant  from  school  one  or  more  days  or  tardy,  on  one  or  more 
days  without  valid  excuse,  may  be  again  declared  an  habitual 
truant. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  159 


Establishment  of  Parental  Schools. 

Sec.  6  (as  amended,  Stats.  1907,  pp.  97,  98).  The  hoard  of 
education  of  any  city,  or  of  any  city  and  county,  or  the  hoard 
of  trustees  of  any  school  district  having  at  least  six  hundred 
census  children,  may  establish  schools  in  a  manner  hereinafter 
prescribed,  or  set  apart  in  public  school  buildings  for  children 
between  eight  and  fourteen  years  of  age,  who  are  habitual 
truants  from  instruction  upon  which  they  are  lawfully  required 
to  attend,  or  who  are  insubordinate  or  disorderly  during  their 
attendance  upon  such  instruction,  or  irregular  in  such  attend- 
ance. Such  school  or  room  shall  be  known  as  a  parental  school. 
A  parental  school,  as  herein  designated  and  provided  for,  shall 
be  one  of  the  primary  or  grammar  schools  of  the  city,  or  city 
and  county,  or  school  district,  and  the  teachers  therein  shall 
have  the  same  qualifications  and  be  employed  and  paid  in  the 
same  manner  as  in  other  primary  and  grammar  schools ;  but 
such  parental  school  shall  be  established  and  maintained  spe- 
cially for  the  instruction  therein  of  such  pupils,  between  the 
ages  of  eight  and  fourteen  years,  as  shall  be  committed  thereto 
as  provided  in  this  act,  and  no  pupil  shall  be  committed  to,  or 
required  to  attend,  such  school,  except  as  in  this  act  provided. 
Said  board  of  education  or  board  of  trustees  may  make  such 
special  rules  and  regulations  for  the  government  of  a  parental 
school  as  shall  be  consistent  with  the  provisions  and  purposes 
of  this  act,  and  not  contrary  to  law.  Such  board  may  provide 
for  the  detention,  maintenance  and  instruction  of  such  children 
in  such  schools;  and  the  county  superintendent  of  schools,  or 
such  board,  or  the  city  superintendent  of  schools  in  any  city,  or 
city  and  county  or  board  of  trustees,  may,  after  reasonable 
notice  to  any  such  child,  and  an  opportunity  for  the  child  to  be 
heard,  and  with  the  consent  of  the  parent,  guardian  or  other 
person  having  control  or  charge  of  such  child,  order  such  child 
to  attend  such  school,  or  to  be  detained  and  maintained  therein 
for  such  period  and  under  such  rules  and  regulations  as  such 
board  may  prescribe,  not  exceeding  the  remainder  of  the  school 
year.  If  such  parent,  guardian,  or  person  having  control  or 
charge  of  such  child  shall  not  consent  to  such  order,  such  child 
may  be  proceeded  against  under  this  act.  If  any  child  in  any 
city,  or  city  and  county  or  school  district  in  which  a  parental 
school  shall  be  established,  shall  be  an  habitual  truant,  or  be 
irregular  in  attendance  at  school,  within  the  meaning  of  these 
terms,  as  defined  in  this  act,  or  shall  be  insubordinate  or  dis- 
orderly during  attendance  at  school,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
attendance  officer,  or  of  the  secretarv  ol  the  board  ol  education 


160  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

or  clerk  of  the  board  of  trustees  if  there  be  no  attendance  officer, 
to  make  and  file  a  complaint  against  such  child,  in  the  proper 
court,  charging  the  fact,  and  to  see  that  such  charge  is  prose- 
cuted by  the  proper  authority;  and  if  the  court,  upon  the  hear- 
ing of  such  complaint,  shall  find  that  such  charge  is  sustained, 
the  court  shall  render  judgment  that  such  child  be  committed 
to,  and  be  detained  and  maintained  in,  a  parental  school  in  such 
city,  or  city  and  county  or  school  district  for  a  term  not  to 
exceed  the  remainder  of  the  current  school  year;  provided,  that 
if  any  child  in  any  district  of  a  county  where  there  is  not  a 
parental  school  shall  be  an  habitual  truant,  or  be  irregular  in 
attendance  at  school,  within  the  meaning  of  those  terms  as 
defined  in  this  act,  or  shall  be  insubordinate  or  disorderly  dur- 
ing attendance  at  school,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  county 
superintendent  of  schools  to  make  and  file  a  complaint  against 
such  child,  in  the  superior  court  of  such  county,  charging  the 
facts ;  and  if  the  court,  upon  the  hearing  of  said  complaint, 
shall  find  that  such  charge  is  sustained  by  the  evidence,  the 
court  shall  render  judgment  that  such  child  shall  be  detained 
and  maintained  in  a  parental  school,  if  there  be  one  in  such 
county,  during  the  remainder  of  the  school  term,  and  if  there 
be  no  parental  school  in  such  county,  the  court  shall  render 
judgment  that  the  parent,  guardian  or  person  having  the  con- 
trol or  charge  of  such  child  shall  deliver  such  child  at  the  be- 
ginning of  each  school  day  for  the  remainder  of  the  school  term, 
at  the  school  from  which  such  child  is  then  a  truant;  provided, 
that  if  the  parent,  guardian,  or  other  person  having  control  or 
charge  of  such  child  shall,  within  three  days  after  the  rendition 
of  such  judgment,  execute  a  good  and  sufficient  bond  to  the 
board  of  education  of  the  city,  or  city  and  county,  or  board 
of  trustees  of  the  district,  with  sufficient  sureties,  in  the  sum 
of  two  hundred  dollars,  conditioned  that  such  child  will,  dur- 
ing the  remainder  of  such  current  school  year,  regularly  at- 
tend some  public  or  private  school  in  such  city,  or  city  and 
county,  or  school  district  and  not  be  insubordinate  or  disor- 
derly during  such  attendance,  such  bond  to  be  approved  by 
the  judge  of  said  court,  and  be  filed  with  the  secretary  of  the 
board  of  education  or  clerk  of  the  board  of  trustees,  then  such 
court  shall  make  an  order  suspending  the  execution  of  such 
judgment  so  long  as  the  condition  of  such  bond  shall  be  com- 
plied with.  If  the  condition  of  such  bond  be  violated,  such 
court,  upon  receiving  satisfactory  evidence  of  the  fact  in  any 
action  brought  therefor  shall  make  an  order  declaring  such 
bond  forfeited  and  directing  such  judgment  to  be  thenceforth 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  161 

enforced.  Such  board  of  education  or  board  of  trustees  may, 
at  any  time  within  one  year  after  any  such  bond  shall  be  de- 
clared forfeited,  have  execution  issued  against  any  or  all  of 
the  parties  to  such  bond,  to  collect  the  amount  thereof ;  and  all 
moneys  paid  or  collected  on  such  bond  shall  be  paid  over  to  the 
parental  school  fund  of  such  city,  or  city  and  county,  or  school 
district.  No  fees  shall  be  charged  or  received  by  any  court  or 
officer  in  any  proceeding  under  this  section.  The  confinement 
of  any  child  in  a  parental  school  shall  be  conducted  with  a  view 
to  the  improvement  of  the  child  and  to  its  restoration,  as  soon 
as  practicable,  to  the  school  which  he  would,  if  not  so  confined, 
be  required  to  attend.  The  city  superintendent  of  schools,  or, 
if  there  be  no  city  superintendent,  the  board  of  education  of  any 
city,  or  city  and  county,  or  county  superintendent  of  schools, 
shall  have  authority,  in  their  discretion,  to  parole  at  any  time 
any  child  committed  to,  or  ordered  to  attend,  a  parental  school, 
except  when  such  commitment  shall  be  by  judgment  or  order 
of  a  court;  and  when  such  commitment  of  any  child  shall  be  by 
judgment  or  order  of  a  court,  such  court  may,  on  the  recom- 
mendation of  the  city  superintendent  of  schools,  or  the  board  of 
education  or  county  superintendent  of  schools,  make  an  order 
paroling  such  child,  upon  such  terms  and  conditions  as  shall  be 
specified  in  the  order.  The  expense  incurred  by  any  city,  or 
city  and  county,  or  school  district  in  purchasing  or  renting  a 
school  site,  erecting  or  renting  a  building  and  equipping  the 
same,  for  the  maintenance  of  a  parental  school,  shall  be  paid 
out  of  funds  other  than  those  collected  for  the  maintenance  of 
schools.  The  salaries  of  teachers  and  the  expense  for  all  school 
supplies  in  a  parental  school  shall  be  paid  out  of  the  same  funds 
from  which  similar  salaries  and  expense  are  paid  for  primary 
and  grammar  schools,  but  all  other  expense  incurred  in  the 
maintenance  of  such  parental  school  shall  be  paid  out  of  the 
parental  school  fund. 

Method  of  Procedure  for  Establishing   Parental   Schools. 

Sec.  7.  Whenever  any  board  of  education  shall  determine 
that  it  is  necessary  or  expedient  for  the  city  or  city  and  county 
to  establish  and  maintain  a  parental  school,  said  board  shall 
furnish  to  the  city  council,  or  other  governing  body  of  such  city 
or  city  and  county,  all  necessary  and  required  information  and 
statistics,  and  if,  after  consideration,  such  city  council  or  other 
governing  body  grants  its  consent  for  the  establishment  of  such 
parental  school,  then  the  board  of  education  shall  furnish  to 
the  authorities  whose  dutv  it  is  to  lew  taxes  in  such  city,  or  city 


162  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


and  county,  thirty  days  before  the  time  specified  by  law  for 
fixing  the  annual  tax  rate,  an  estimate  of  the  cost  of  purchasing 
or  renting  a  suitable  site,  and  also  an  estimate  of  the  cost  of 
renting  or  erecting  a  suitable  building  and  equipping  the  same 
for  occupancy  as  a  parental  school,  and  the  cost  to  the  city  or 
city  and  county,  other  than  for  salaries  of  teachers  and  for 
school  supplies,  of  conducting  the  school  for  the  remainder  of 
the  current  school  year.  When,  pursuant  to  such  consent  by 
such  governing  body,  such  estimates  shall  have  been  so  made 
and  furnished  by  the  board  of  education  of  any  city,  or  city 
and  county,  it  is  hereby  made  the  duty  of  the  authorities  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  to  levy  taxes  in  such  city,  or  city  and  county,  at 
the  time  of  levying  the  taxes,  to  levy  a  special  tax  upon  all  tax- 
able property  of  said  city,  or  city  and  county,  sufficient  in  its 
judgment  to  provide  the  facilities  requested  by  the  board  of 
education,  and  for  which  such  estimates  shall  have  been  so  fur- 
nished. It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board  of  education,  yearly, 
thereafter,  to  present  to  the  authorities  of  the  city,  or  city  and 
county,  whose  duty  it  is  to  levy  taxes,  on  or  before  the  first 
Monday  in  July,  an  estimate  of  the  moneys  required  for  con- 
ducting the  parental  school  for  the  school  year,  other  than  for 
the  salaries  of  teachers  and  for  school  supplies.  When  such 
estimate  shall  have  been  so  presented,  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
said  authorities  to  levy  a  special  tax  upon  the  taxable  property 
of  said  city,  or  city  and  county,  sufficient  to  maintain  such 
school  for  the  year,  exclusive  of  salaries  of  teachers  and  expense 
of  school  supplies.  All  taxes  in  this  act  provided  for  shall  be 
computerd,  entered  upon  the  tax  roll  and  collected,  in  the  same 
manner  as  other  taxes  are  computed,  entered  and  collected,  and 
when  collected  shall  be  placed  in  a  separate  fund,  to  be  known 
as  the  "parental  school  fund,"  and  shall  be  paid  out  on  the 
order  of  the  board  of  education  for  the  purposes  set  forth  in 
this  act ;  provided,  that  all  moneys  so  collected  for  the  purchase 
of  sites  or  buildings,  or  the  erection  or  equipment  of  buildings 
for  parental  school  purposes,  shall  be  placed  in  a  separate  fund, 
to  be  known  as  the  "parental  school  building  fund,"  and  shall 
be  used  solely  for  the  purpose  or  purposes  for  which  collected, 
except  that  after  such  purpose  or  purposes  shall  have  been  fully 
accomplished,  the  residue  of  such  fund,  if  any,  may  be  trans- 
ferred to  said  parental  school  fund. 

Any  District  May  Establish  Parental  Schools. 

Sec.  7l/2  (a  new  section  added,  Stats.  1907,  pp.  99).  The  board 
of  trustees  of  any  school  district  wherein  a  parental  school  may 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  163 

be  established  under  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  whenever 
such  board  deems  it  proper,  may,  for  the  purpose  of  raising 
money  for  the  establishment  and  maintenance  of  a  parental 
school  for  said  district,  proceed  under  the  provisions  of  Article 
XIX,  Chapter  III,  Title  III,  of  Part  III,  of  the  Political  Code 
of  this  state,  to  raise  moneys  for  such  purpose,  and  the  moneys 
so  raised  shall  be  paid  into  the  county  treasury,  and  shall  con- 
stitute a  "parental  school  fund,"  for  such  district.  The  moneys 
of  such  fund  shall  be  used  for  no  other  purpose  than  herein 
indicated.  Money  shall  be  drawn  from  said  fund  by  the  trus- 
tees of  the  district  in  the  same  manner  as  money  is  drawn  from 
other  school  funds. 

Joint  Parental  Schools. 

Sec.  8.  Two  or  more  school  districts  or  cities  may  unite  in 
the  following  manner,  to  form  a  joint  district  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  a  joint  parental  school :  When  any  board  of  education 
or  board  of  school  trustees  has  secured,  in  the  manner  as  set 
forth  in  section  seven  of  this  act,  the  consent  of  the  legislative 
body  of  the  city  or  school  district,  in  which  said  board  of  educa- 
tion or  board  of  school  trustees  holds  office,  for  the  union  of 
two  or  more  districts  to  form  a  joint  parental  school  district, 
said  board  of  education  or  board  of  trustees  shall  transmit  such 
information  to  the  board  of  supervisors  of  the  county  of  which 
said  city  or  school  district  or  districts  forms  a  part,  setting  forth 
at  the  same  time  the  cities  or  districts  with  which  said  city  or 
districts  seeks  to  unite  for  the  maintenance  of  a  joint  parental 
school.  When  such  information  has  been  received  by  the  board 
of  supervisors  from  all  the  cities  or  school  districts  seeking  to 
be  united,  it  is  hereby  made  the  duty  of  the  board  of  super- 
visors, by  resolution,  to  declare  such  cities  or  school  districts 
united  for  the  maintenance  of  a  joint  parental  school,  to  be 
known  as  the  joint  parental  school  district  of  (give  the  names 
of  the  school  districts  uniting).  When  the  districts  have  been 
so  united,  the  boards  of  education  or  boards  of  trustees  of  the 
cities  or  school  districts  so  uniting  shall  appoint  a  board  of 
trustees  for  the  joint  parental  school  district,  to  consist  of  five 
members  (unless  the  number  of  cities  or  school  districts  uniting 
exceeds  five),  who  shall  be  appointed  from  the  membership  of 
the  boards  of  the  several  districts  or  cities  uniting,  by  the 
respective  boards  in  approximate  proportion  to  the  census  chil- 
dren between  five  and  seventeen  years  of  age  in  the  districts 
uniting;  provided,  however,  that  each  district  shall  be  repre- 
sented by  at  least  one  member  on  the  board  of  trustees  of  the 


164  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

joint  parental  school  district.  The  members  so  appointed,  to 
serve  for  the  remainder  of  the  term  of  office  for  which  they  were 
elected  on  their  respective  boards  of  education  or  boards  of 
trustees,  and  when  vacancies  occur  on  said  board  of  trustees  of 
joint  parental  school  districts,  they  shall  be  filled  by  the  board 
making  the  original  appointment.  The  superintendent  of 
schools  of  each  of  the  cities  or  school  districts  uniting,  shall  be 
ex  officio  members  of  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  joint  parental 
school  district,  without  the  right  to  vote.  In  the  management 
of  a  parental  school  within  a  school  district,  city,  or  city  and 
county,  the  right  to  transport  pupils  to  and  from  school  at 
public  expense,  when,  in  the  judgment  of  the  board  of  educa- 
tion, or  board  of  school  trustees,  the  interest  of  the  pupil  de- 
mands it,  is  hereby  conferred  upon  such  boards.  All  the  pow- 
ers and  duties  by  any  section  of  this  act  conferred  or  imposed 
upon  the  boards  of  school  trustees  or  boards  of  education 
of  any  city,  or  city  and  county,  in  the  management  of,  and 
the  securing  of  funds  for,  a  parental  school  within  a  city  or 
school  district,  arc  hereby  conferred  upon  and  imposed  upon 
the  board  of  trustees  of  any  joint  parental  school  district  in 
the  management  of  and  the  securing  of  funds  for  the  support 
of  a  joint  parental  school ;  provided,  however,  that  in  estimating 
the  expense  of  maintenance  of  a  joint  parental  school  the 
amount  of  money  needed  for  the  payment  of  teachers'  salaries 
and  for  the  furnishing  of  school  supplies  shall  be  included  in 
the  estimate  of  expenses ;  and  provided,  further,  that  the  esti- 
mates shall  be  transmitted  to  the  board  of  supervisors  of  the 
county  of  which  the  joint  parental  school  district  forms  a  part. 
When  such  estimates  shall  have  been  so  transmitted,  it  is  hereby 
made  the  duty  of  the  board  of  supervisors  to  levy  a  special  tax 
upon  the  taxable  property  within  the  boundaries  of  the  joint 
parental  school  district,  sufficient  to  provide  the  facilities  re- 
quested by  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  joint  parental  school 
district,  and  for  which  such  estimates  shall  have  been  furnished, 
and  yearly  thereafter  when  the  estimates  of  the  total  expense 
of  the  maintenance  of  the  joint  parental  school  and  increased 
facilities  shall  have  been  furnished  the  board  of  supervisors,  it 
shall  be  the  duty  of  said  board  to  levy  a  special  tax  sufficient  to 
maintain  the  school  for  the  year.  All  taxes  in  this  act  provided 
shall  be  computed  and  entered  upon  the  tax  roll  and  collected 
in  the  manner  prescribed  for  the  collection  of  taxes  in  Section 
seven  of  this  act  ;  provided,  that  all  moneys  so  collected  shall  be 
collected  by  the  count}'  tax  collector  and  apportioned  to  the 
credit  of  the  joint  parental  school  district,  and  placed  in  the 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  165 

fund  for  which  they  were  specially  collected.  If  for  sites  or 
buildings,  to  be  placed  in  a  fund  known  as  the  joint  parental 
school  building  fund,  to  be  used  exclusively  for  the  purposes  for 
which  they  were  collected,  the  same  as  set  forth  in  Section  seven 
of  this  act.  The  board  of  trustees  of  joint  parental  school  dis- 
tricts shall  organize,  by  the  election  of  one  of  their  number  as 
chairman,  and  by  the  election  of  a  secretary,  who  shall  be  the 
city  superintendent  of  schools,  or  the  secretary  of  a  board  of 
education  or  the  clerk  of  one  of  the  boards  of  education  or 
boards  of  trustees  of  the  cities,  or  school  districts  united,  and 
such  secretary  shall  serve  without  additional  salary.  All  moneys 
in  a  joint  parental  school  fund  shall  be  paid  out  on  the  order  of 
the  board  of  trustees  of  the  joint  parental  school  district  for  the 
purposes  herein  set  forth,  and  in  the  same  manner  that  funds 
are  paid  from  the  ordinary  school  funds  of  a  school  district. 

Fines  Paid  to  Parental  School  Fund. 

Sec.  9.  All  fines  paid  as  penalties  for  the  violation  of  any  of 
the  provisions  of  this  act  shall,  when  collected  or  received,  be 
paid  over  by  the  justice  or  officer  receiving  the  same  to  the 
treasurer  of  the  city,  or  city  and  county,  in  which  the  offense 
was  committed,  to  be  placed  to  the  credit  of  the  parental  school 
fund  of  such  city,  or  city  and  county,  if  there  be  such  a  fund, 
otherwise  to  the  credit  of  the  general  school  fund  of  such  city, 
or  city  and  county,  or  to  the  county  treasurer,  to  be  placed  to 
the  credit  of  the  school  fund  of  the  school  district  in  which  the 
offense  was  committed. 

Parents  of  Deaf  or  Blind  Children  Must  Send  Them  to  School. 

Sec.  10.  Any  parent  or  guardian  of  any  deaf,  dumb,  or  blind 
child,  legally  entitled  to  admission  to  said  institution,  shall  send 
such  child  to  said  institution  until  such  child  shall  have  been 
therein  for  five  years,  or  shall  have  reached  the  age  of  majority, 
unless  such  child  shall  be  excused  from  such  attendance  by  the 
board  of  education  or  board  of  trustees  of  the  city,  city  and 
county,  or  school  district  in  which  such  child  resides,  tor  the 
reason  that  the  child's  bodily  or  mental  condition  is  such  as  to 
prevent  or  render  inadvisable  attendance  at  said  institution,  or 
for  the  reason  that  such  child  is  receiving  proper  instruction  at 
home  or  in  some  public  or  private  school.  Any  parent  or 
guardian  failing  to  comply  with  the  requirements  of  this  section 
shall  be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  be  punishable  as  provided 
in  Section  two  of  this  act. 


166  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

Officers  Having  Jurisdiction. 

Sec.  11.  Any  justice  of  the  peace,  or  recorder  of  the  city  or 
city  and  county,  or  any  justice  of  the  peace  of  the  township  in 
which  the  school  district  is  located,  or  in  which  the  offense  is 
committed,  shall  have  jurisdiction  of  all  offenses  committed  under 
the  provisions  of  this  act. 

Sec.  12.  This  act  shall  take  effect  and  be  in  force  from  and 
after  July  first,  nineteen  hundred  and  three. 

Sec.  13.  An  act  entitled  an  act  to  enforce  the  educational 
rights  of  children,  approved  March  twenty-eighth,  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  seventy-four,  and  all  acts  and  parts  of  acts  in  con- 
flict with  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  act,  are  hereby  repealed. 

ENFORCEMENT   OF  LAWS. 


CHAPTER  128,  STATS.  1909. 
Employment  of  Children — Enforcement  of  Laws. 

Section  1.  All  minors  coming  within  the  provisions  of  an 
act  entitled  "An  act  regulating  the  employment  and  hours  of 
labor  of  children,  prohibiting  the  employment  of  minors  under 
certain  ages,  prohibiting  the  employment  of  certain  illiterate 
minors,  providing  for  the  enforcement  hereof  by  the  commis- 
sioner of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  and  providing  penalties 
for  the  violation  hereof"  (approved  February  20,  1905),  and 
found  employed  and  at  work  without  the  necessary,  legal 
authorization  as  provided  for  and  required  in  said  act,  and 
whose  ages  are  between  the  maximum  and  minimum  age  limits 
as  described  in  an  act  entitled  "An  act  to  enforce  the  educa- 
tional rights  of  children  and  providing  penalties  for  violation 
of  the  act,"  shall  be  placed  or  delivered  into  the  custody  of  the 
school  district  authorities  of  the  county,  city,  or  city  and  county 
in  which  they  are  found  illegally  at  work. 

Sec.  2.  The  commissioner  of  the  bureau  of  labor  statistics  is 
hereby  authorized,  directed  and  empowered  to  enforce  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act. 

Sec.  3.     This  act  shall  take  effect  immediatelv. 


"If  we  work  upon  marble  it  crumbles  to  dust.  If  we  write 
upon  bronze,  time  will  efface  it,  but  if  we  impress  immortal  truth 
upon  the  soul  of  a  child  we  have  done  a  work  which  will  never 
perish,  which  time  will  never  efface  but  which  will  grow  brighter 
and  brighter  through  eternity."  DANIEL  WEBSTER. 


Hints  to  Parents  and 
Probation  Officers 

By 

Probation   Officers 
Members  of  the    Probation   Committee 

and  by  the 

Judge  of  the  Juvenile  Court 
of  Los   Angeles 


Remember  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  judge  to  try  cases  and 
render  judgments;  and  of  the  probation  officers  to  see  that  such 
judgments  and  orders  are  carried  out. 

Remember  that  like  surgeons  we  are  not  so  much  trying  to 
keep  from  hurting  patients  as  to  see  that  every  hurt  is  necessary 
and  helps  toward  good  citizenship. 

Remember  that  no  one  is  indispensable. 

Remember  that  the  officers  of  the  juvenile  court  are  groping 
their  way  in  a  maze,  thickly  strewn  with  broken  hearts — thou- 
sands of  them — that  some  hearts  are  sure  to  be  hurt  by  blunder- 
ing missteps;  but  see  that  they  are  as  few  as  possible. 

JUDGE  WILBUR. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  169 

APHORISMS  BY  THE  PROBATION  OFFICERS. 

Remember  that  a  boy  saved  is  a  man  gained. 

Remember  that  it  is  cheaper  to  win  a  boy  than  to  support 
a  criminal. 

Remember  to  have  faith  in  a  boy,  and  keep  your  eyes  open. 

Remember  that  if  one  point  of  attack  fails,  there  are  ninety- 
nine,  left. 

Remember  that  to  make  mistakes  is  human — to  profit  by 
them  is  divine. 

Remember  that  without  imagination  one  never  understands 
a  boy  or  girl. 

Remember  that  our  superiors,  as  well  as  ourselves,  have  to 
bear  the  burden  of  our  mistakes. 

Remember  to  keep  unheralded  the  great  grief,  woe,  and  dis- 
grace of  the  unfortunate. 

Remember  that  the  future  of  our  nation  depends  upon  the 
boys  and  girls  of  today. 

Remember  that  to  save  a  boy  may  mean  the  rescue  of  other 
boys  through  his  influence. 

Remember  that  to  be  a  good  probation  officer  one  must 
never  get  out  of  patience. 

Remember  that  the  spirit  of  the  juvenile  court  work  is  cor- 
rective and  constructive  ;  not  punitive. 

Remember  that  a  threat  is  a  promise  to  pay :  it  might  be  in- 
convenient to  make  payment  when  the  obligation  becomes  due. 

Remember  that  a  boy's  sense  of  justice  is  keen,  and  that  each 
•boy  presents  an  entirely  new  and  different  problem  from  every 
other  boy. 

Remember  that  it  is  the  talking  with,  and  not  the  talking  to, 
which  finally  wins  a  boy  or  girl. 

Remember  disappointments  are  not  failures  and  sometimes 
give  us  new  visions  with  which  to  solve  problems. 

Remember  that  the  child  has  his  point  of  view  and  try  to  win 
his  confidence  by  looking  at  things  from  his  standpoint. 


170  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

Remember  not  to  expect  immediate,  tangible  results.  Good 
seed  rarely  bears  fruit  in  a  minute,  nor  are  wings  grown  over 
night. 

Remember  to  combine  sympathy  and  firmness  in  right  pro- 
portion. This  is  as  essential  for  probation  officer  as  for  parent, 
and  as  difficult. 

Remember  it  is  not  so  much  ours  to  question  how  or  why  all 
these  heartaches,  all  these  broken  lives;  it  is  ours  to  gather  up 
the  wreckage  and  out  of  it  construct  noble  and  useful  characters. 

Remember  that  it  is  the  duty  of  a  probation  officer  to  work 
with  the  child  and  parent  toward  a  higher  standard  of  life;  to 
strengthen  home  life,  not  to  disintegrate  it. 

Remember  that  he  who  plants  a  pure  thought,  an  unselfish 
motive,  or  a  noble  purpose  in  the  soul  of  another  becomes  a  co- 
worker  with  the  Divine  in  the  regeneration  of  the  world. 

Remember  that  the  juvenile  court  is  an  indispensable  factor 
in  this  community  and  that  we  are  integral  parts  of  this  court. 
\Ve  therefore  owe  it  to  the  court  and  community  to  make  our- 
selves the  best  representatives  possible. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  171 

Remember  there  is  always  a  physical  basis  for  irritability  in 
a  boy;  it  is  the  beginning  of  crime — block  it. 

Remember  over-indulgence  has  spoiled  many  a  boy ;  so  stim- 
ulate the  faculty  of  effort. 

Remember  smoking  in  boys  is  always  associated  with  worse 
habits  and  lying  is  one;  so  you'll  have  difficulty  in  finding  the 
others. 

Remember  boys  are  creatures  of  habit.  The  first  time  they 
do  a  new  thing  it  is  difficult,  but  each  time  it  becomes  easier, 
until  finally  it  becomes  part  of  themselves,  and  the  habit,  good 
or  bad,  continues  almost  without  consciousness  as  a  rule  through 
life. 

Remember  boys  who  run  away  from  home  smoke  or  take 
their  first  smoke  then. 

Remember  to  study  the  psychology  of  every  boy  before  get- 
ting him  a  job. 

Remember  you  are  contributing  to  the  delinquency  of  a  boy 
when  you  set  him  at  something  he  is  incapable  of  doing.  Why? 

Remember  never  to  pass  a  boy  up  as  "hopeless"  until  he  has 
been  thoroughly  examined  as  to  his  physical  and  mental  condi- 
tion. 

Remember  defective  hearing  and  incorrigibility  are  some- 
times closely  associated. 

Remember  you  will  lose  ground  by  trying  to  reform  a  bad 
boy  by  telling  him  certain  things  are  wicked.  Show  him  how 
he  is  to  be  benefited. 

Remember  cigarette  smokers  are  always  liars;  so  use  the 
greatest  tact. 

Remember  you  can  do  practically  nothing  with  a  boy  until 
you  get  his  confidence,  and  you  can't  get  it  through  fear. 

Remember  the  proper  time  to  begin  training  a  boy  is  before 
he  can  walk — so  give  the  next  generation  a  lift. 

Remember  you  can  get  out  of  a  boy  only  that  which  has 
been  put  in  and,  since  95  per  cent,  have  had  either  bad  parental 
training  or  the  lack  of  proper  training,  it  is  up  to  you  to  put  the 
good  in. 

Remember  the  first  evidence  of  a  boy's  reformation  is  the 
awaking  of  a  legitimate  interest  and  personal  pride. 

Remember  badness  in  boys  is  due  more  often  to  the  parents 
than  to  the  boy  himself. 

Remember  that  "good"  mothers  and  "bad"  boys  often  go 
hand  in  hand. 


172  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


Remember  that  over-indulgence  is  one  of  the  surest  ways  to 
ruin  a  boy. 

Remember  that  grown  folks's  entertainment  is  not  for  chil- 
dren. 

Remember  boys  are  not  naturally  good  any  more  than  crops 
are  good  without  cultivation. 

Remember  boys  are  not  born  good — they  acquire  it. 

Remember  boys  are  not  born  with  the  spirit  of  God  in  them ; 
you  must  put  it  in  them. 

Remember  more  progress  can  be  made  by  working  with 
one  generation  of  boys  than  can  be  made  by  working  with  sev- 
eral generations  of  adults. 

Remember  the  boy  who  is  irritable  is  not  well. 

Remember  a  good  disposition  and  bad  digestion  do  not  go 
together  in  boys  any  more  than  in  adults. 

Remember  boys  vary  with  environment  as  plants  and  flowers 
vary  with  soil. 

Remember  training  a  boy  is  like  breaking  a  horse — the  longer 
you  let  it  go,  the  harder  job  yon  have. 

Remember  a  boy  under-fed  or  poorly  nourished  is  very  liable 
to  lose  control  of  himself,  any  time. 

Remember  a  boy  with  a  crippled  will  is  worse  off  than  with 
any  physical  deformity. 

Remember  that  ()7  per  cent,  of  our  boys  are  from  bad  en- 
vironment and  without  training.  What  more  could  you  expect? 

Remember  an  unclean,  untidy,  slovenly  boy,  no  matter  how 
good  the  report,  is  not  doing  well. 

Remember  a  boy  who  continues  smoking  cigarettes  is  doing 
other  things,  as  bad,  or  worse. 

Remember  never  to  condemn  a  bad  boy,  for  97  times  out 
of  a  hundred  his  going  wrong  is  the  fault  of  his  parents  or  en- 
vironment, over  which  he  has  no  control. 

Remember  bad  boys  have  a  strong  sense  of  justice,  but  their 
point  of  view  has  been  contorted,  so  set  them  right. 

Remember  the  desire  for  possession  is  a  natural  primitive 
instinct,  so  how  can  you  blame  boys  without  training  for  steal- 
ing. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  173 


Remember  good  thought  can  not  come  from  a  brain  receiving 
impressions  from  defective  senses,  nor  can  pure  thoughts  or 
actions  come  from  a  mind  receiving  impression  from  a  bad  en- 
vironment. 

Remember  a  stereotyped  or  lock-step  system  can  never  re- 
form boys.  They  are  all  different  and  a  study. 

Remember  smoking  in  boys  means  lack  of  discipline  and 
weak  wills. 

Remember  talking  back  is  the  first  indication  of  parental 
disrespect  which  precedes  incorrigibility,  and  once  incorrigible 
you  are  on  the  way  to  court. 

JOHN  A.  COLLIVER,  M.  D. 


Remember  that  the  juvenile  court  is  not  a  criminal  court, 
and  has  no  jurisdiction  in  criminal  cases  (excepting  adult  con- 
tributory cases). 

Remember  that  the  juvenile  court  never  sentences  or  pun- 
ishes any  person  under  twenty-one  years — its  orders  are  custodial 
only. 

Remember  that  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  must  deter- 
mine in  every  case  before  him  involving  crime  wrhether  such 
case  should  go  into  the  usual  channels  for  prosecution  of  crime. 

Remember  that  the  determination  of  the  juvenile  court  that 
a  person  is  a  "delinquent  person"  merely  fixes  the  status  of  such 
person  as  one  whose  custody  is  cognizable  by  the  juvenile  court. 

Remember  that  the  juvenile  court  has  no  jurisdiction  or 
power  to  inflict  anything  recognized  by  law  as  punishment. 

Remember  that  all  custodial  orders  of  the  court  for  a  definite 
time  also  provide  that  such  custody  shall  continue  "until  the 
further  order  of  court." 

Remember  that  a  crank  is  necessary  to  start  an  automobile, 
but  after  it  is  started  the  crank  does  nothing,  and  is  in  the  way. 

Remember  that  while  probation  officers  are  expected  to  keep 
out  of  politics,  that  does  not  mean  that  it  is  safe  or  sane  to  saw 
off  a  limb  while  you  are  sitting  on  it — it  might  be  fatal. 

Remember  that  there  are  no  good  people  and  no  bad  people 
in  the  world,  but  all  are  a  strange  mixture  of  both,  and  it  is  your 
business  to  multiply  the  good  and  suppress  the  bad  tendencies. 
It  is  a  hard  job  to  see  the  good  in  people  and  not  be  blind  to  the 
bad,  but  a  harder  job  to  see  the  bad  and  not  overlook  the  good. 
Some  people  need  hanging,  but  when  we  think  only  of  the  good 


174  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


in  them — of  the  mothers,  or  wives'  love  for  them,  of  the  brothers 
and  sisters  who  love  them,  and  are  loved  by  them — it's  hard 
to  do  it. 

Remember  that  there  are  some  people  good  enough  to  get 
to  heaven,  but  who  will  want  to  have  the  streets  repaved  within 
six  months. 

Remember  that  "kickers"  will  kick,  whether  they  are  kick- 
ing because  they  want  something,  or  because  they  have  what 
they  wanted  and  find  they  don't  like  it  as  much  as  they  expected. 

Remember  that  it's  easy  to  give  good  advice  but  hard  to  get 
it  taken. 

Be  an  idealist  with  your  head  in  the  clouds,  but  keep  your 
feet  on  the  ground.  Remember  Lincoln's  story. 

JUDGE  WILBUR. 


1906 

Some  Addresses  Delivered  Before 

The  Fourth 

California  State  Conference  of 
Charities  and  Corrections 

Held  in  Los  Angeles 

Pertaining  to  the  Juvenile  Court 

Held  in  September  1906 

Reprinted  for  the  Information  of 
Probation  Officers 


Dependent  Childhood  in  California 

By  A.  J.   Pillsbury 

Secretary  State  Board  of  Examiners 

In  the  final  analysis  the  State  is  the  ultimate  guardian  of 
every  child  in  the  State.  In  fact,  the  State  is  the  ultimate  guar- 
dian of  every  person  in  the  State,  old  or  young.  The  State  may 
take  any  of  us  and  put  us  into  its  army  to  be  shot  at  or  wherever 
it  has  use  for  us.  The  individual  exists  for  the  whole  as  he  does 
also  for  the  existence  of  the  species.  As  a  matter  of  sound  pol- 
icy, therefore,  society  permits  parents  to  enjoy  their  own  chil- 
dren and  be  responsible  for  them,  as  it  also  permits  individuals 
to  enjoy  individual  liberty  of  going  and  coming,  planning  and 
doing,  but  if  an  occasion  arises  where  State  authority  must 
interfere  in  order  to  preserve  its  own  welfare,  the  right  to  do  so 
can  not  be  questioned.  Now,  with  this  right  of  the  State  goes  the 
duty  on  the  part  of  the  State  to  exercise  that  right  when  the  com- 
mon welfare  requires  it.  These  conclusions  are  elemental  and  it 
would  be  a  good  thing  if  they  were  to  so  sink  into  the  public  con- 
sciousness as  to  be  productive  of  many  good  things  to  children 
whose  parents  neglect  or  inadequately  provide  for  and  educate 
them.  Many  parents  suppose  that  their  children  are  their  own 
to  do  with  as  they  please,  and  that  it  is  nobody's  business  but 
their  own  what  they  do  with  them.  They  are  mistaken.  It  is 
everybody's  business. 

A  dependent  child  is  one  wrho  has  no  proper  person  to  take 
proper  care  of  it.  California  recognizes  only  three  classes  of 
these  as  being  entitled  to  State  protection,  the  whole  orphan,  the 
half  orphan  and  the  abandoned  child.  This  leaves  quite  a  num- 
ber to  be  looked  out  for  as  best  they  may  be,  without  State 
interest  being  manifested.  Most  Eastern  States  make  no  such 
distinctions.  They  regard  any  child  as  a  proper  subject  for  State 
care  if  it  be  in  fact  dependent,  no  matter  what  the  cause  of  de- 
pendency. There  are  children  with  both  parents  living  who  are 
just  as  dependent  as  other  children  who  have  no  parents  living. 
Parents  who  are  of  no  account  are  no  better  than  no  parents. 

Dependency  is  not  often  complete  and  permanent.  Even  a 
whole  orphan  generally  has  relatives  who  will  lay  claim  to  it 
when  it  is  old  enough  to  have  an  earning  capacity,  but  who  do 
not  want  to  be  burdened  with  it  so  long  as  it  is  a  burden.  Some 
States  compel  grandparents,  brothers  and  sisters  to  take  care  of 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  177 

dependent  children  by  suits  at  law.  This  policy  greatly  lightens 
the  public  burden,  but  leaves  the  welfare  of  the  child  open  to 
serious  question.  The  unwelcome  child  is  not  likely  to  be  a  cod- 
dled child,  and  any  policy  that  does  not  look  first  of  all  to  the 
welfare  of  the  child  is  not  a  true  policy. 

Then  there  are  many  dependent  children  who  require  to  be 
tided  over  a  period  of  adversity  until  a  surviving  parent  can 
develop  an  earning  capacity  sufficient  to  warrant  the  reassump- 
tion  of  parental  obligation.  This  is  the  case  with  the  larger  part 
of  the  children  whom  the  State  of  California  is  helping  to  sup- 
port. In  no  case  should  this  support  be  extended  after  the  sur- 
viving parent  has  become  able  to  support  such  a  child,  but  it  is 
through  the  abuse  of  this  right  of  the  child  that  California  is 
put  to  its  heaviest  expense.  Indigency  should  be  the  basis  of 
State  aid  in  all  cases  where  parents  are  morally  fit  to  have  cus- 
tody of  their  children.  Where  they  are  not  their  children  should 
be  taken  from  them  utterly — after  exhaustion  of  a  probationary 
interval.  Many  a  delinquent  parent  has  been  redeemed  to  right 
living  through  a  threatened  deprivation  of  children. 

California  suffers  great  imposition  through  a  too  liberal  con- 
struction of  the  term  "abandoned"  child.  It  has  probably  sus- 
tained hundreds  of  them  during  past  years  who  were  in  no 
proper  sense  abandoned,  but  only  shirked.  They  were  sent  to 
orphanages  to  be  cared  for  when  little,  but  were  reclaimed  as 
soon  as  big  enough  to  have  an  earning  capacity.  The  word 
"abandoned"  in  its  legal  sense  is  precisely  what  its  meaning  is 
as  given  in  the  dictionary.  It  is  a  child  whose  unnatural  parents 
have  gone  off  and  left  it  for  a  period  of  one  year,  without  making 
provisions  for  its  support.  If  they  have  done  this  they  have  lost 
all  legal  claim  to  and  right  over  the  child  and  should  be  permit- 
ted to  have  no  more  to  do  with  it  than  with  the  child  of  a  stran- 
ger, but  lack  of  judicial  determination  of  the  fact  of  abandon- 
ment, and  a  systemless  system  of  discharging  the  State's  duty  to 
the  child,  have  permitted  unnatural  and  irresponsible  parents  to 
reclaim  children  whose  support,  if  nothing  else,  they  had  aban- 
doned. In  fact,  obliging  orphanages  have  received  visits  and 
small  contributions  at  intervals  from  parents  of  children  whom 
they  have  steadily  reported  to  the  State  as  abandoned  and  for 
whose  support  they  have  unhesitatingly  drawn  $75.00  per  year 
each  from  the  State  treasury.  l>y  this  means,  mendicancy  has 
been  promoted  and  the  State  mulcted  to  the  extent  of  tens  of 
thousands  of  dollars  since  the  present  method  of  extending  State 
aid  to  dependent  childhood  was  put  into  operation.  The  only 
complete  remedy  for  this  abuse,  which  has  been  the  result  of  lax 


178  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


methods  and  not  of  deliberate  intent  to  defraud,  lies  in  having 
the  fact  of  dependency  judicially  established. 

In  most  eastern  States  the  fact  of  dependency  is  judicially 
established  if  the  State  is  to  bear  any  part  of  the  cost  of  main- 
taining a  dependent  child.  If  the  local  town  or  township,  as  we 
would  call  it,  is  to  bear  the  -cost  the  selectmen  may  determine  the 
fact  of  dependency,  or  if  the  county  is  to  do  it,  then  the  super- 
visors of  such  county,  or  else  the  superintendent  of  the  poor,  may 
make  the  investigation  and  determine  the  fact.  In  all  cases,  I 
think,  the  body  politic  and  corporate  that  is  to  bear  the  expense 
determines  the  fact  of  dependency,  the  court  representing  the 
interests  of  the  commonwealth.  In  California  it  is  different. 
The  forty-four  orphanages  practically  determine  the  fact  of 
dependency  for  those  for  whom  they  care,  and  the  boards  of 
supervisors  of  the  several  counties  determine  the  fact  for  those  to 
whom  they  grant  outside  relief,  passing  the  bill  up  to  the  State  to 
be  repaid.  This  system  does  not  conduce  to  economy  or  equality 
in  the  disposition  of  the  State  dependent  children's  fund  and 
there  is  a  crying  need  for  a  judicial  determination  of  all  depend- 
ency for  whose  relief  the  State  treasury  is  to  be  drawn  upon. 
The  present  system  tends  to  create  more  mendicancy  than  can  be 
remedied  by  State  bounty. 

The  State  Board  of  Examiners,  which  audits  the  claims 
made  against  the  State  Dependent  Child  Fund,  has  been 
humanely  liberal  in  its  interpretation  of  the  law.  For  instance, 
it  has  classed  as  half  orphans  children  in  indigent  circumstances, 
one  of  whose  parents  is  confined  in  one  of  the  State's  prisons  or 
asylums  for  the  insane  during  such  confinement.  There  may  not 
be  any  specific  law  for  this  but  the  necessities  of  children  have 
seemed  to  require  it  and  in  allowing  it  the  quality  of  mercy  has 
not  been  strained. 

There  is  a  prevailing  impression  that  dependent  childhood 
costs  California  a  great  deal  more  in  proportion  to  population 
than  it  costs  other  States.  It  does  cost  the  State  more  but  it 
probably  costs  the  taxpayers  less.  In  California  dependent 
childhood  is  mainly  a  State  problem,  as  it  should  be.  In  most 
eastern  States  it  is  a  problem  that  confronts  the  taxpayer  at  every 
turn  through  township,  county,  city  and  State.  I  found  no  east- 
ern State  that  cares  for  what  children  are  cared  for  by  the  State 
as  cheaply  per  child  as  California  cares  for  her  dependent  children. 
And  State  care  is  preferable  to  township  or  county  care  because 
the  interests  of  the  child  arc  better  protected.  The  dollar  held 
up  immediately  before  the  eye  of  the  local  taxpayer  prevents  his 
looking  adown  the  vista  of  time  and  seeing  the  future  of  the 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


child  as  a  public  problem.  Per  contra,  a  State  Board  of  Chari- 
ties and  Corrections,  to  whose  charge  this  problem  is,  in  the  East, 
mainly  entrusted,  remembers  that  the  criminal  of  the  future  is 
the  child  of  today  and  so  concerns  itself  with  the  ultimate  conse- 
quences of  a  care-taking  policy  more  than  with  the  dollar  of  im- 
mediate cost. 

For  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1905,  there  were  7,292 
children  who  received  State  aid  at  some  time  during  the  year. 
Of  these  5,283  were  being  maintained  in  the  forty-four  existing 
orphanages  and  2,018  were  aided  through  the  Boards  of  Super- 
visors of  the  several  counties.  It  is  worth  while  to  note  that  the 
forty-four  orphanages  together  maintained  1230  children  for 
whose  care  they  received  no  State  aid  whatever. 

From  the  best  figures  that  the  State  Board  of  Examiners 
could  obtain  from  reports  made  to  them  the  average  cost  to  the 
institutions  maintaining  these  children  for  the  half  year  ending 
June  30,  1905,  was  $53.05  per  child.  The  State's  average  share 
of  this  burden  was  $32.57  per  child.  Of  course,  some  orphanages 
maintain  a  higher  standard  of  living  than  others,  but  it  may  be 
doubted  if  any  orphanage  in  California  receives  more  from  the 
State  than  is  needed  for  the  immediate  care  and  feeding  of  the 
children  in  its  charge.  The  conducting  of  an  orphanage  can  not, 
so  far  as  State  aid  is  concerned,  be  regarded  as  a  gainful  pursuit. 
If  there  be  profit  in  it,  it  must  be  because  of  the  opportunity 
offered  for  soliciting  funds  outside.  A.  better  degree  of  State 
supervision  would  prevent  this  abuse,  as  the  exactions  of  a  chari- 
ties endorsement  committee  in  San  Francisco  have  already  shut 
out  some  such  candidates  for  charities.  The  benevolent  public 
needs  protection  from  imposition,  but  I  do  not  know  any  one  of 
the  forty-four  existing  orphanages  that  has  not  a  bona  fida  need 
for  aid  far  beyond  that  extended  by  the  State. 

There  \vere  519  persons  employed  at  some  time  during  the 
year  in  the  care  of  the  children  mentioned  above,  besides  198 
other  persons  who  gave  their  time  and  labor  without  recompense. 
The  total  salaries  paid  during  the  half  year  amounted  to  $87,- 
119.66,  or  about  $28  per  month  each.  The  ratio  on  paper  is  one 
caretaker  to  each  nine  children,  but  this  includes  all  manner  of 
workers,  including  care  of  land  and  garden,  many  of  whom  were 
on  the  pay  roll  for  a  short  time  only.  The  real  ratio  ot  care- 
takers to  children  would  conic  nearer  being  one  to  fifteen. 

For  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30.  1905.  the  State  Treasurer 
cashed  warrants  issued  to  the  forty-four  orphanages  in  the  aggre- 
gate sum  of  $337,459.07.  The  further  sum  of  $no._?42.34  was 
paid  to  the  several  counties  of  the  State  lor  the  support  of  chil- 


180  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

dren  aided  in  the  homes  of  their  surviving1  parents.  This  makes 
a  grand  total  of  $433,701.41  as  the  annual  expense  of  dependent 
childhood  to  the  taxpayers  of  California.  It  is  worthy  of  note 
that  the  sum  above  mentioned  as  having  been  paid  to  the  forty- 
four  orphanages  ($337,450.07)  is.  on  an  average,  about  $30,000.00 
less  than  has  been  annually  paid  to  them  during  a  number  of 
years  previous  to  the  incoming  of  the  present  State  administra- 
tion. A  closer  surveillance,  and  a  somewhat  more  strict  inter- 
pretation of  the  law,  has  resulted  in  important  economies  without 
inflicting  hardship  upon  any  child  entitled  by  law  to  State  aid. 
There  is,  however,  a  tendency  for  the  outside  aid  extended 
through  boards  of  supervisors  to  increase  in  numbers  of  children 
aided  and  expense  passed  up  to  the  State  for  reimbursement. 
This  aid  in  the  home  of  the  surviving  and  worthy  parent  is  the 
best  form  of  aid  that  can  be  extended,  but  whatever  aid  is  ex- 
tended in  such  cases  should  be  bas°d  on  the  principle  of  "as  much 
as  is  needed  and  no  more,  as  long  as  needed  and  no  longer,"  for 
the  prevention  of  hardship  to  the  child.  Again,  a  judicial  deter- 
mination of  the  fact  of  dependency  and  a  judicial  fixing  of  the 
degree  of  dependency  also  would  work  hardship  to  no  one  and 
prove  a  just  economy  to  the  State.  It  is  not  the  State  policy  re- 
garding dependent  childhood  that  needs  to  be  reformed  so  much 
as  the  method  of  executing  that  policy. 

Whatever  else  may  be  said  in  criticism  of  the  California 
policy  of  caring  for  dependent  children  it  can  not  be  charged 
with  the  inhumanity  of  breaking  up  and  scattering  to  the  four 
winds  of  heaven  the  children  of  dependent  parents  who  have 
committed  no  offense  other  than  that  of  poverty.  In  most  of  the 
State  sof  the  east  that  I  visited,  this  is  done  in  the  interests  of 
economy,  but  not  in  the  interests  of  humanity.  Eastern  States,  in 
general,  say  to  the  widowed  mother,  in  effect,  "Very  well, 
madam,  if  you  can  not  support  your  children  we  will  take  them 
from  you  and  parcel  them  out  to  persons  who  can  support  them, 
but  they  will  be  no  longer  your  children.  They  will  be  adopted 
by  others  and  will  become  their  children  as  much  as  though  they 
had  been  born  to  them." 

California  says  to  such  an  unfortunate  woman,  "Madam,  the 
State  sympathizes  with  you  in  your  distress  and  is  ready  and  will- 
ing to  help  you  reasonably.  You  may  place  your  children  in  the 
orphanage  of  your  choice,  and  leave  them  there,  visiting  them 
meantime  on  proper  occasions,  until  you  can  develop  an  earning 
capacity  which  will  enable  you  to  get  them  under  a  roof  of  your 
providing.  Or  they  may  remain  under  your  own  roof,  if  you  have 
one,  and  through  your  local  board  of  supervisors,  receive  as 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  181 


much  State  aid  for  the  support  of  your  half-orphan  children  as 
you  need,  and  no  more,  provided  that  it  does  not  exceed  $75.00 
for  each  child  per  year,  and  you  may  receive  that  aid  as  long  as 
you  need  it,  but  no  longer.  You  may  thus  keep  your  family  to- 
gether without  grave  hardship  and  your  children  shall  belong  to 
you  and  not  be  given  to  a  stranger." 

The  heart  of  California  is  right,  and  it  is  better  that  it  sub- 
mit to  some  imposition  than  that,  in  the  name  of  fiscal  economy, 
it  steel  its  heart  against  the  promptings  of  parental  affection. 

It  makes  a  world  of  difference  whether  or  not  one's  point  of 
view  of  a  social  problem  be  at  its  vortex  or  out  on  the  outer  cir- 
cumference. To  the  matron  in  charge  of  a  lying-in  hospital  in  a 
great  city  it  looks  as  though  chastity  were  unknown  and  fidelity 
to  the  marriage  relation  an  iridescent  dream.  Such  a  one  for- 
gets that  of  every  hundred  persons  who  enter  the  holy  bonds  of 
matrimony,  for  better  or  worse,  a  vast  majority  hold  themselves 
sacred  to  their  marriage  vows  until  separated  by  death.  So  also, 
it  is  about  as  hard  for  those  upon  the  outer  edge  of  the  problem 
of  social  purity  to  comprehend  the  stupendous  problem  of  illegiti- 
macy, in  America,  may  not  assume  startling  proportions  when 
and  one  whose  consideration  society  should  not  shun.  Illegiti- 
macy as  when  it  is  seen  at  the  vortex.  It  is  a  very  real  problem 
expressed  in  comparative  percentages,  but  when  compared  with 
the  intelligent  provision  made  for  it,  it  becomes  a  very  serious 
problem  and  seems  likely  to  continue  to  be  so.  The  elemental 
promptings  of  sex  emotion  are  likely  to  go  on  producing  their 
illegitimate  results  to  the  end  of  time. 

It  is  commonly  supposed  that  illegitimate  children,  mainly 
classed  as  "foundlings"  when  they  come  into  public  custody,  are 
badly  born,  likely  to  be  diseased,  and  better  off  dead  than  alive. 
This  is  exceptionally,  but  not  at  all  generally  true.  Some  there 
are  who  come  into  the  world  diseased  beyond  redemption  and 
most  of  these  do  die,  in  spite  of  all  that  can  be  done  for  them, 
within  the  first  six  months  of  their  lives,  but  by  far  the  greater 
number  of  foundlings  are  as  healthy  as  other  children.  The 
women  of  the  redlight  district  are  mainly  sterile  and  add  tew  to 
the  ranks  of  illegitimacy.  Nor  are  these  babes  the  product  of 
the  baser  forms  of  criminality,  which  are  not  so  much  given  to 
seduction  as  to  patronage  of  brothels.  The  stream  of  foundlings 
pours  out  of  the  homes  of  the  people,  their  mothers  being,  for 
the  most  part,  giddy,  untrained  girls  still  in  their  "teens,"  and 
their  fathers  either  youth  of  their  own  age  or,  more  olten  em- 
ployers, men  with  families,  men  of  mature  physique,  but  with 
crippled  consciences.  Not  a  few  are  really  love  children,  born 


182  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

outside  of  wedlock,  but  inside  of  a  real  and  true  affection  which 
some  barrier  prevents  culminating  in  marriage.  If  given  a  good 
start  these  little  people,  who  are  not  at  all  to  blame  for  their 
unconventional  advent,  develop  into  surprisingly  beautiful  and 
intelligent  children.  Is  it  necessary  to  social  preservation  that 
they  must  ever  walk  in  the  shadow  of  the  sin  of  parents  to  them 
unknown? 

The  social  problem  of  the  disposition  of  foundlings  has,  so 
far  as  it  became  related  to  institutional  life,  been  well  nigh  elimi- 
nated by  the  atrocious  percentages  of  mortality.  Tewksbury  alms- 
house  in  Massachusetts  lost  98  per  cent,  of  these  little  people  year 
after  year,  and  yet  science  and  nursing  did  about  as  well  as  it 
knew  how  to  preserve  them  alive.  The  best  foundling  hospitals 
in  the  east  have  until  recent  years  lost  85  to  90  per  cent,  of  their 
charges.  The  asylums  in  San  Francisco  have  lost  somewhere 
between  50  and  75  per  cent,  and  a-e  still  losing  nearly  as  many. 
Those  in  charge  do  the  best  they  can  under  the  circumstances, 
but  the  circumstances  have  no  business  to  be  what  they  are  and 
have  been.  Circumstances  have  been  guilty  of  nothing  less  than 
manslaughter  and  they  have  been  clearly  remediable.  Babies 
simply  can  not  be  brought  up  on  bottles,  herded  together  in 
groups  of  ten  or  a  dozen,  and  with  no  more  individual  attention 
than  consists  in  being  given  the  bottle  at  stated  intervals- and  hav- 
ing their  diapers  changed.  A  baby  suffered  to  lie  on  its  back, 
hour  after  hour  and  day  after  day  without  being  taken  in  arms, 
talked  to  and  moved  about,  will  die  or,  if  it  survive,  will  be  as 
stupid  as  a  knot  on  a  log.  The  intelligence  of  the  human  race  is 
dependent  upon  the  start  which  a  mother's  tireless  baby  talk  has 
afforded. 

The  California  statute  in  such  cases  made  and  provided 
graciously  allows  $12.50  per  month  for  the  maintenance  of  every 
foundling  maintained  "in"  an  institution  during  the  first  eight- 
een months  of  its  life.  But  if  it  be  maintained  in  an  institution  it 
is  likely  to  die.  The  present  State  Board  of  Examiners  has  gra- 
ciously construed  that  word  "in"  to  mean  "by"  until  such  time 
as  the  Legislature  can  change  it  so  as  to  permit  of  these  little 
people  being  boarded  out,  not  more  than  two  in  a  place,  with 
motherly  women  who  have  had  experience  in  bringing  up  babies, 
to  be  watched  and  cared  for  by  the  physician  attending  upon  the 
institution.  This  is  a  good  way  of  taking  care  of  foundlings 
until  they  have  reached  the  age  when  they  can  eat  soft  foods  and 
are  no  longer  dependent  upon  bottles  that,  very  likely,  are  sup- 
plied with  drugged  milk  that  some  assassin  of  a  milk  dealer  has 
provided.  Massachusetts  now  boards  out  all  of  its  foundlings, 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  183 

but  the  mortality  is  still  great  where  the  bottle  must  be  depended 
upon. 

It  has  been  found,  however,  that  the  only  sure  way  to  get 
the  foundling  over  the  first  six  months  of  its  life,  the  crucial 
period,  is  to  give  it  the  breast.  In  the  lying-in  hospitals  this  is 
attained  partly  by  requiring  mothers  about  to  be  confined  to 
agree  to  remain  a  year,  if  possible,  and  those  who  are  strong 
enough,  are  required  to  nurse  another  baby  besides  their  own, 
giving  each  one  side  of  the  breast  and  supplementing  with  one 
or  more  milk  feeds  for  both  babies  each  day.  This  works  ad- 
mirably, so  far  as  that  source  of  supply  can  be  made  to  go,  but 
it  does  not  go  far  enough  to  cover  all  of  the  basket  babies  left 
at  the  doors  of  these  institutions. 

The  heavy  work  that  used  to  be  done  by  Irishmen  in  this 
country,  such  as  sewer  construction,  railroad  building  and  street 
work,  is  now  being  done  mainly  by  Italians.  These  Italian 
workmen  are  frequently  if  not  always  accompanied  to  this  coun- 
try by  their  wives.  Through  a  most  unfortunate  superstition 
these  Italian  women  will  not  employ  physicians  during  confine- 
ment, but  trust  to  the  unskilled  offices  of  ignorant  old  midwives 
who  deliver  something  like  two-fifths  of  the  infants  of  these 
women,  still-born.  The  discovery  of  this  fact  has,  in  Xcw  York 
City,  resulted  in  the  developing  of  a  remunerative  and  thor- 
oughly humane  system  of  putting  foundlings  out  to  be  nursed  by 
these  unfortunate  mothers.  They  receive  $8.00  to  $10.00  per 
month  and,  no  matter  how  lowly  may  be  their  own  standard  of 
living,  their  babies  thrive.  They  live  on  a  vegetable  diet,  their 
milk  is  rich  and,  even  in  a  squalid  home,  the  baby  is  all  right. 
Inasmuch  as  these  workers  are  scattered  all  over  the  country  it 
will  be  worth  while  for  those  having  foundlings  in  their  charge 
to  exhaust  this  source  of  life  preservation  before  folding  their 
hands  in  the  comforting  assurance  that,  "The  Lord  giveth  and 
the  Lord  taketh  away." 

The  New  York  Foundling  Hospital  (Catholic)  is  doing  a 
work  in  rectifying  the  remediable  defects  of  childhood  that  all  the 
world  should  copy.  It  has  the  handling  of  perhaps  1500  illegit- 
imate and  foundling  children  each  year,  and  instead  of  placing 
them  out  as  soon  as  possible,  in  whatever  condition  they  may  be, 
all  the  remediable  defects  of  childhood  are  remedied  before  the 
little  people  pass  from  under  their  custody.  It  is  beautiful  work, 
beautifully  done,  with  the  result  that  the}'  have  many  hundreds 
of  beautiful  children  to  be  placed  in  approved  homes.  To  do  this 
a  hospital  is  maintained  which  has,  at  its  disposal,  some  of  the 
best  surgical  skill  the  great  city  can  supply.  How  legs  and 


184  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

knock-knees  are  made  straight  by  breaking  and  resetting. 
Crossed  eyes  are  coaxed  back  into  line  with  spectacles  or,  if  too 
crooked,  are  straightened  by  an  operation.  Irregular  teeth  are 
put  in  order,  adenoid  growths  are  removed  from  the  air  passages 
and  all  things  possible  are  done  to  give  their  little  charges  a  fair 
chance  in  life's  race  for  the  best  places.  I  want  everybody's  chil- 
dren as  well  looked  out  for  as  nobody's  children.  The  thing  is 
possible  and  practical. 

There  is  no  handicap  to  carry  through  life  like  unto  the  con- 
sciousness of  inferiority.  It  discounts  all  the  opportunities  of  life 
from  the  start.  More  than  this,  it  lays  the  foundation  for  a  life 
of  criminality.  Professor  Frank  Lydston  in  his  "Diseases  of 
Society,"  declares :  "The  nearer  we  get  to  the  marrow  of  crimi- 
nality the  more  closely  it  approximates  pathology.  The  question 
of  physique,  education  and  surroundings  of  children  are  the  warp 
and  woof  of  the  fabric  of  the  prevention  of  crime.  The  child 
criminal  is  something  of  which  civilization  should  be  ashamed." 
Of  100  children  received  at  the  New  York  Juvenile  Asylum  94 
had  defective  teeth,  15  of  these  had  teeth  that  were  in  process  of 
advanced  decay  and  one  boy  had  already  lost  4  teeth.  Now  the 
condition  of  the  teeth  has  an  influence  upon  the  behavior,  if  not 
upon  the  actual  criminality  of  the  child.  Defective  teeth  cause 
fermentation,  inability  to  grind  the  food  properly  causes  indiges- 
tion, indigestion  causes  malnutrition  and  malnutrition  is  the 
greatest  known  cause  of  criminality  among  children  because  it 
leaves  their  brains  as  defective  as  their  bodies.  Of  1000  delin- 
quent children  examined  by  this  institution  65  per  cent,  were 
found  to  be  suffering  from  malnutrition.  A  weakened  brain  is 
attended  with  a  weakened  conscience  and  a  weakened  under- 
standing of  the  consequences  of  conduct. 

The  children  in  the  institutions  of  California  are  inade- 
quately safeguarded  against  those  remediable  deficiencies  which 
are  so  likely  to  fasten  upon  childhood,  but  so  are  the  children 
outside  of  institutional  life.  Their  welfare  is  of  concern  to  the 
State  for  the  reason  that  the  defective  child  of  today  is  not  un- 
likely to  become  the  criminal  of  a  few  years  hence.  It  would  be 
profitable  for  some  department  of  State  government,  perhaps 
the  State  Board  of  Health,  to  put  into  the  field  a  number  of 
skilled  diagnosticians  of  diseases  common  to  childhood,  to  visit 
all  of  the  institutions  of  the  State  where  there  are  children,  in- 
cluding the  public  schools,  for  the  purpose  of  making  such  ex- 
aminations as  may  be  required  and  informing  parents  and  teach- 
ers of  such  defects  as  may  exist  with  directions  as  to  how  they 
may  be  remedied.  The  ordinary  practitioner  does  not  always 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  185 

detect  defects  that  an  expert  will  perceive  at  a  glance,  but  how- 
ever that  may  be  parents  are  wonderfully  blind  to  the  existence 
of  such  deficiencies.  So  much  of  this  work  as  is  educational  the 
State  can  well  afford  to  do,  that  it  may  decrease  crime  and  pau- 
perism likely  otherwise  to  result  later  in  life  from  disorders 
which  will  have  to  come  to  be  irremediable  handicaps  to  a  proper 
physical  and  mental  development. 

Iowa,  Michigan  and  Massachusetts  maintain  State  hospitals 
for  remedying  the  deficiencies  of  such  children  as  have  become 
wards  of  the  State,  and  every  child  whose  parents  are  pecuniarily 
unable  to  send  a  defective  child  to  a  hospital  should  become  a 
ward  of  the  State  to  that  extent.  It  would  not  be  very  costly  or 
at  all  out  of  place  to  have  such  a  hospital  connected  with  the 
medical  department  of  the  State  University.  It  would  not  need 
to  be  a  large  one  or  expensive  to  maintain,  and  it  might  easily  be 
able  to  pay  for  itself  over  and  over  again  every  year  by  giving  the 
defective  childhood  of  the  State  a  chance  to  develop  into  a  well 
nourished  and  symmetrically  formed  manhood  and  womanhood. 

I  am  quite  sure  that  I  have  seen  more  mouth-breathers  and 
more  cross-eyed  children  in  some  single  orphanages  in  California 
than  I  have  seen  in  all  the  orphanages  visited  throughout  the 
east,  put  them  all  together.  The  State  will  do  well  to  look  more 
closely  to  its  own.  Crime  and  pauperism  are  heavy  burdens  and 
are  more  easily  made  right  at  the  start  than  at  the  finish. 

California  has  no  State  orphanage  and  there  is  only  one 
county  orphanage  in  the  State,  and  that  is  at  Fresno.  The  other 
forty-three  orphanages  are  benevolent  institutions  created  and 
controlled  either  by  some  church  or  some  charitable  organization. 
Fifteen  of  the  orphanages,  and  quite  the  largest  ones,  are  owned 
and  controlled  by  the  Catholic  church.  The  remainder  of  the 
forty-three  are  either  Protestant  or  belong  to  benevolent  orders, 
such  as  the  Odd  Fellows  or  the  Good  Templars.  The  State  has 
not  found  it  necessary  to  construct  and  maintain  any  orphanages 
on  public  account,  and  certain  it  is  that  it  could  not  undertake 
the  w6rk  nearly  so  cheaply  as  it  is  done  now  and  it  is  open  to 
doubt  if  it  could  be  as  well  done  as  under  existing  conditions. 

There  are  those  who  decry  orphanages  as  if  they  were  a 
superfluity  for  which  society  has,  or  should  have,  no  use.  Such 
is  not  the  fact.  No  matter  how  far  the  systems  of  placing  out 
and  boarding  out  may  be  carried,  as  in  Massachusetts  and  Penn- 
sylvania, there  will  still  be  a  large  percentage  of  dependent  chil- 
dren who  must  be  cared  for  in  an  orphanage  or  go  uncared  for 
altogether.  There  are  scores  of  such  institutions  in  Massachu- 
setts and  Pennsvlvania,  although  not  under  State  control  or  re- 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  186 

.ceiving  State  aid.  They  perform  their  useful  service  none  the 
less. 

The  highest  use  an  orphanage  can  perform  is  to  take  care  of 
the  children  of  the  worthy  poor  until  they  can  tide  over  a  period 
of  adversity  and  get  once  more  upon  a  self-sustaining  basis. 
This  is  the  principal  service  that  the  orphanages  of  California 
are  performing.  I  have  not  reliable  statistics  from  California 
orphanages  covering  this  feature  of  their  work,  but  of  the  40,000 
children  which  the  Juvenile  Asylum  of  New  York  has  cared  for 
during  the  last  fifty  years  33,000  went  back  to  their  own  families. 
I  think  that  this  percentage  will  hold  good  in  nearly  if  not  quite 
all  cases.  The  average  stay  of  a  half-orphan  in  a  California 
orphanage,  as  nearly  as  I  can  approximate  it,  is  between  two  and 
three  years,  when  the  widowed  mother  or  the  surviving  father 
marries  again,  and  the  child  is  again  taken  under  a  parental  roof. 
This  is  a  work  of  the  highest  benevolence  and,  for  the  most  part, 
is  performed  in  good  faith  and  with  credit  to  the  institutions  ren- 
dering that  service. 

The  second  highest  function  performed  by  orphanages  is  the 
taking  care  of  unattractive  children  who  have  no  one  to  take  care 
of  them  until  they  can  be  made  capable  of  taking  care  of  them- 
selves. State  aid  ceases  at  14,  the  most  vulnerable  age  of  a 
child's  life,  but  many  of  the  orphanages  hold  onto  their  charges 
long  after  that  and  until  they  can  be  placed  in  good  homes  at 
wages.  It  is  not  improbable  that  there  may  be  1,000  unattract- 
ive and  therefore  unplaceable  children  being  cared  for  in  Califor- 
nia orphanages  at  the  present  time. 

A  third  valuable  use  an  orphanage  can  perform  for  the  pub- 
lic is  to  receive  children  from  the  streets,  untrained  and  in  poor 
physical  condition,  and  rough-break  them,  as  they  say  of  young 
colts,  remedy  their  physical  defects  and  so  make  them  fit  to  be 
placed  in  homes  to  be  reared  as  own  children.  This  service  is 
being  performed  to  some  advantage  already,  but  might  be  to 
much  greater  if  some  of  the  suggestions  heretofore  made,  where- 
by the  state  might  aid  in  the  work  were  put  into  effective  oper- 
ation. They  need  help  on  the  medical  and  surgical  side  of  the 
question. 

But  the  best  orphanage  that  ever  was  is  not  as  good  a  place 
for  the  rearing  of  a  child  as  an  ordinarily  good,  American  home. 
Best  the  orphanage  people  can  do,  whether  the  institution  be 
conducted  under  the  congregate  or  the  cottage  plan,  the  child 
brought  up  in  an  institution  will  inevitably  lose  much  that  goes 
toward  the  making  of  an  independent  and  sell-reliant  personal- 
ity. The  child  will  be  an  incubator  chicken  instead  of  a  chicken 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  187 

that  the  old  hen  has  raised.  Any  one  who  has  run  an  incubator 
will  know  what  this  illustration  signifies.  An  incubator  chicken 
hasn't  a  "lick"  of  worldly  wisdom,  and  neither  has  the  institu- 
tional child. 

A  little  of  institutionalism  is  not  a  bad  thing,  especially  for  a 
child  that  has  been  a  bit  of  a  delinquent,  as  most  dependent  chil- 
dren have  been.  Having,  up  to  that  time,  been  excessively 
individualistic,  a  few  months,  or  a  year  or  so,  of  the  communistic 
life  is  not  at  all  bad  for  them.  Besides,  if  the  marching  and  the 
uniform  were  subtracted  from  the  institutionalism  those  who 
find  institutionalism  such  a  bug-a'-boo  would  be  much  at  ease. 
The  marching  is  the  most  orderly,  and  quite  the  best,  method  of 
going  and  coming,  and  the  uniform  is  the  cheapest  way  of  dress- 
ing, and  has  the  further  merit  of  being  the  most  equal  and  there- 
fore affording  the  least  ground  for  suspected  discriminations  and 
consequent  heart  burnings.  The  real  objections  to  institutional- 
ism lie  deeper  than  marchings  and  uniforms.  They  lie  in  the 
assimilation  of  the  individual  to  the  mass. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  assimilation — benevolent  and  malevo- 
lent. The  bad  urchin  brought  into  a  well  regulated  institution  of 
reasonably  good  children  does  not,  as  popularly  supposed,  imme- 
diately proceed  to  corrupt  the  mass.  He  is  assimilated  to  it  and 
not  it  to  him,  and  is  benefitted,  but  the  child  that  has  something 
better  in  him  than  the  common  herd  can  boast,  is  also  assimilated, 
and  malevolently.  He  loses  the  greater  part  of  his  identity  and 
power  of  independent  self-direction  and  it  is  not  likely  ever  to 
regain  it  if  brought  to  maturity  in  such  an  institution. 

The  cottage  system  of  maintaining  orphanages  lessens  the 
evils  of  institutionalism,  but  cannot  wholly  overcome  them.  The 
masses  are  smaller  and  the  assimilations  less  complete.  The 
masses  are  also  graded  into  classes  and  the  assimilations  are 
accordingly  to  the  class  rather  than  to  the  mass,  but  the  best 
that  can  be  done  does  not  more  than  approximate,  tinder  the  cot- 
tage system,  the  condition  of  the  home  where  children  see  more 
of  adult  life,  and  are  influenced  powerfully  by  it.  and  where  they 
are  inevitably  thrown  more  upon  their  own  resources. 

The  cottage  plan  of  maintaining  an  orphanage  is  more  costly 
than  the  congregate  system  because  of  the  increased  cost  ol 
superintendence.  The  New  York  Juvenile  Asylum  may  be  taken 
as  the  best  model  of  a  cottage  system  this  country  has  to  otter. 
There  the  per  capita  cost  per  year  is  $220. (X).  The  congregate 
orphanages  of  California,  with  few  exceptions,  get  on  tor  half 
that  money.  It  is  a  question  of  what  can  be  afforded.  The  cot- 
tage system  is  best,  but  it  costs  most,  and  vet  the  more  costly 


388  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

system  is  the  cheaper  in  the  end  if  the  money  can  be  provided. 

California  is  maintaining  as  dependent,  by  and  with  the  help 
of  public  charity,  a  large  number  of  children  who  should  not  be 
dependent  and  who  need  not  be  if  those  who  are  responsible  for 
them  were  made  to  do  their  duty.  It  must  be  somebody's  busi- 
ness to  do  this  or  it  will  not  be  done.  It  blights  the  life  of  the 
child  and  encourages  a  hereditary  pauperism. 

The  office  of  the  State  Board  of  Examiners  maintains  a 
restraining  influence  over  dependency,  but  it  has  not  now  and 
never  has  had  a  force  adequate  for  searching  out  the  ultimate 
facts  concerning  each  case  certified  up  to  it  by  the  forty-four 
orphanages  and  the  fifty-seven  boards  of  supervisors  of  the  re- 
spective counties.  Nor  are  the  managers  of  the  orphanages  any 
better  equipped  for  this  service.  They  are  charity  workers,  their 
means  is  limited  and  the  time  they  can  give  to  the  work  more 
so,  and,  besides,  a  hard  luck  story  is  likely  to  "go"  with  persons 
charged  with  the  conduct  of  benevolent  institutions.  If  they 
had  not  been  benevolently  inclined  they  would  not  have  been 
associated  with  a  benevolent  institution. 

A  proper  tribunal  for  the  determination  of  an  issue  of  fact 
in  which  the  public  or  the  state  is  interested,  is  a  court.  I  think 
that  the  law  should  be  so  amended  that  no  child  should  become 
a  charge  upon  the  bounty  of  the  state  until  its  dependency  had 
been  judicially  determined.  This  will  save  the  state  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  dollars  annually  and  will  work  childhood  no  wrong.  It 
will  also  have  a  tendency  to  enforce  parental  responsibility. 

My  next  most  important  recommendation  is  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  system  of  authorized  home-finding  for  children 
who  are  both  free  and  fit  to  go  into  homes  to  be  reared  as  own 
children  or  by  indenture  until  they  are  old  enough  to  take  care 
of  themselves.  There  is  a  species  of  child  brokerage  going  on 
that  should  be  stopped,  but  all  proper  persons  should  be  licensed 
to  engage  in  home  finding  who  desire  to  devote  themselves  to 
that  benevolence. 

It  is  my  judgment  that  this  much  needed  work  can  best  be 
performed  under  the  supervision  and  control  of  the  State  Board 
of  Charities  and  Corrections.  It  should  have  power  to  scrutinize 
all  agencies  for  child-placing  and  to  authorize  or  prohibit  their 
activities  according  as  their  work  meets  with  approval  or  merits 
disapprobation.  Coupled  with  this  should  go  a  visitorial  power 
with  force  enough  to  make  that  power  effective,  which  should 
result  in  an  agent  visiting  every  child  placed  out  by  any  person 
in  the  State  as  often  as  twice  a  year  until  legally  adopted  or 
until  such  children  have  attained  their  majority. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  189 


One  reason  why  this  function  should  be  turned  over  to  the 
State  Board  of  Charities  and  Corrections  is  that  such  is  the  cus- 
tom of  some  of  the  older  States  of  the  Union  that  have  been 
brought  into  closest  contact  with  the  dependent  child  problem, 
and  the  system  works  well  there. 

A  second  reason  is  that  a  system,  once  established,  can  be 
given  a  continuity  of  operation  under  such  a  board  that  it  could 
not  have  under  any  state  office  likely  to  suffer  a  change  of  per- 
sonnel at  every  change  of  administration.  A  continuing  policy 
is  indispensible  to  success. 

Furthermore,  the  supervision  of  the  placing  of  children  in 
homes  is  itself  a  charity  and  appertains  naturally  to  a  State 
Board  of  Charities. 

Finally,  under  no  circumstances  should  the  welfare  of  a 
dependent  child  become  the  victim  of  partisan  politics.  In  all  of 
the  States  of  the  east,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  inform  my- 
self, their  several  State  Boards  of  Charities  have  maintained 
themselves  entirely  outside  of  the  current  of  political  influence, 
and  the  constitution  of  the  California  State  Board  is  well  calcu- 
lated to  attain  the  desired  end.  In  no  other  board  or  commis- 
sion is  the  welfare  of  the  child  likely  to  be  so  well  and  so  impar- 
tially looked  out  for  as  under  the  State  Board  of  Charities  and 
Corrections. 

The  auditing  of  expense  accounts  should  continue  to  be, 
as  at  present,  a  function  of  the  State  Board  of  Examiners. 

These  two  reformatory  measures  will,  I  feel  sure,  if  put  into 
effective  operation  cut  the  State's  financial  burden  occasioned  by 
dependent  childhood  in  twain,  and  yet  make  the  dependent  child 
much  better  cared  for  than  at  present. 

The  dependent  child  is  the  ward  of  the  state  and  the  state 
should  better  and  more  intelligently  discharge  its  duties  as  ulti- 
mate guardian.  There  has  been  dereliction  of  duty  in  this  par- 
ticular and  the  consequences  of  that  dereliction  have  been  serious 
to  the  child  and  burdensome  to  the  state  treasury. 


Child  Labor  Laws  and  Their 
Enforcement 

By  W.  V.  Stafford 

State  Commissioner  of  Labor  Statistics 
Read  before  California  Conference  oj  Charities  and  Corrections,  1908 

In  order  that  a  proper  conception  may  be  had  of  child  labor 
in  California,  it  will  be  necessary  to  review  briefly  the  history 
of  this  interesting  subject.  In  the  year  1802,  the  first  factory 
act  known  to  our  civilization  was  passed  by  the  British  Parlia- 
ment for  the  purpose  of  abating  the  evils  of  child  labor.  This 
law  was  inspired  by  the  terrible  condition  of  the  pauper  children 
of  the  City  of  London.  The  poor  houses  of  that  city  not  only 
supplied  the  orphans  and  deserted  children  from  7  years  of  age 
upward  to  the  factories  then  springing  into  existence  through 
the  development  of  machinery,  but  actually  paid  a  small  prem- 
ium to  the  employers  to  take  the  children  off  their  hands.  These 
neglected  young  paupers  were  poorly  fed  and  terribly  abused, 
worked  an  excessive  number  of  hours,  often  14  in  one  day, 
lodged  in  barracks  and  consequently  decimated  by  disease.  The 
law  of  1802  applied  to  certain  industries  and  to  pauper  chil- 
dren only,  but  it  w^as  soon  found  necessary  to  protect  the  young 
from  the  selfishness  of  their  parents.  In  1833  the  principle  of  an 
age  limit  under  which  children  might  not  be  employed  came  to 
be  recognized,  and  it  was  estimated  that  56,000  children  between 
the  ages  of  9  and  13  were  then  employed  in  factories  in  Great 
Britain.  In  1842,  it  was  found  necessary  to  regulate  the  terms 
under  which  children  might  be  employed  in  coal  mines  as  well  as 
in  factories.  Prior  to  this  children  had  begun  work  in  the  mines 
as  early  as  5  years  of  age.  Dr.  Felix  Adler  cites  an  instance  of 
a  man  named  Apsden  testifying  before  the  Childrens'  Employ- 
ment Committee  in  1833  that  his  boy,  then  present,  had  been  car- 
ried on  the  father's  shoulders  across  the  snow  to  his  place  of 
employment,  where  he  would  work  for  16  hours,  and  the  boy  was 
only  7  years  of  age.  Notwithstanding  the  supposed  advance  in 
civilization,  and  the  more  humane  sentiment  toward  child  labor 
that  has  been  fostered  by  the  philanthropic  and  humanitarian 
societies,  I  am  doubtful  whether  or  not  this  advance  has  greatly 
outstripped  the  desire  on  the  part  of  the  employer  for  cheap 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  191 


help  that  goes  hand  in  hand  with  improved  machinery.  Even  to- 
day it  is  estimated  that  in  the  factories  of  the  southern  states 
about  20,000  children  are  employed,  all  of  whom  are  under  12 
years  of  age.  And  these  are  employed  under  conditions  just  as 
distressing  as  those  prevailing  in  England  before  the  passage  of 
the  first  factory  act.  Recent  investigations  have  plainly  shown 
that  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey  and  New  York  have  no 
cause  to  vaunt  themselves  over  their  southern  neighbors.  In  fact 
in  many  respects  they  are  even  worse,  in  that  they  have  excellent 
laws  which  are  not  enforced.  Wherever  the  congested  condi- 
tions exist;  wherever  manufacture  is  the  ruling  industry  there 
eternal  vigilance  is  necessary  to  prevent  the  exploitation  of  the 
young.  No  one  section  of  our  country  is  better  than  any  other 
section.  It  is  the  demand  that  begets  the  condition.  The  indus- 
try that  can  thrive  on  juvenile  labor  will  use  juvenile  labor  if  it  is 
not  prevented,  be  it  in  South  Carolina,  New  York  or  California. 
Until  the  present  year  in  the  City  of  San  Francisco  the  schools 
in  certain  quarters  contiguous  to  the  canneries  were  always 
crowded  during  the  first  two  or  three  weeks  o'f  the  fall  term  with 
children  from  6  to  14  years  of  age,  whose  little  hands  were  drawn 
and  crippled  by  cuts  and  fruit  acids,  rendering  them  utterly 
unable  to  do  any  school  work  requiring  the  use  of  their  hands. 

During  the  first  years  of  California's  history  as  a  state,  gold 
and  silver  mining  was  its  chief  industry.  Gradually  agriculture 
and  horticulture  came  to  be  of  importance,  and  now  with  our 
rapidly  increasing  population,  improved  methods  of  communica- 
tion and  cheap  fuel,  manufacture  is  assuming  a  prominent  place. 
And  with  this  increase  in  importance  goes  a  corresponding 
increase  in  the  keenness  of  the  competition,  and  the  inevitable 
search  on  the  part  of  the  employer  for  means  whereby  his  operat- 
ing expenses  may  be  reduced.  Under  such  conditions  always  have 
there  been  the  same  results ;  wages  suffer  first  and  the 
attempt  always  comes  to  substitute  cheaper  and  cheaper 
labor,  and  the  evil  day  soon  approaches  when  the  half  grown 
child  comes  to  be  the  competitor  of  his  own  father.  This  hap- 
pened in  England  over  a  century  ago;  in  New  York  and  Massa- 
chusetts for  decades  this  evil  has  been  one  of  the  problems  of 
greatest  concern;  the  southern  cotton  factories  and  the  Illinois 
coal  mines  contributed  their  share  of  the  sins  against  the  young, 
and  it  was  seen  to  be  but  a  matter  of  time  until  our  own  state 
should  join  the  procession.  With  this  in  view  and  believing 
that  "an  ounce  of  prevention  is  worth  a  pound  of  cure,"  cer- 
tain public  spirited  citizens  presented  a  measure  regulating  the 
employment  of  children  to  the  Legislature  in  lc>01,  which  passed 


192  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

that  body  and  became  a  law  March  23rd  of  that  year.  This  first 
enactment  was  very  limited  in  its  scope,  and  only  affected  chil- 
dren under  12  years  of  age  except  as  to  hours,  which  later  restric- 
tion went  to  18.  On  account  of  it  being  necessary,  under  this 
enactment,  to  prove  guilty  intent  on  the  part  of  the  employer, 
convictions  were  very  difficult  and  small  attempt  was  made  in  the 
way  of  enforcement.  At  the  session  of  1905  the  present  law 
was  passed,  making  a  great  improvement  over  the  previous  legis- 
lation in  the  safeguards  thrown  around  the  children  and  the 
methods  of  enforcement.  Under  this  law  no  child  under  18 
years  of  age  is  allowed  to  work  more  than  9  hours  per  day  in  cer- 
tain industries;  no  child  under  16  years  of  age  is  allowed  to  work 
between  10  o'clock  in  the  evening  and  6  o'clock  in  the  morning; 
no  minor  under  16  years  of  age  may  be  employed  unless  he  or 
she  can  read  or  write  English,  or  is  in  attendance  upon  a  regu- 
larly conducted  night  school.  All  minors  under  14  years  of  age 
are  forbidden  employment,  except  during  the  regular  vaca- 
tion of  the  Public  Schools,  when  they  are  eligible  only  upon  the 
production  of  a  permit  signed  by  the  teacher  of  the  school  last 
attended  by  such  child,  showing  his  regular  attendance  during 
the  term  preceding  such  vacation  ;  and  on  the  permission  of  the 
judge  of  the  juvenile  court,  which  permission  is  granted  only  on 
the  submission  of  evidence  that  the  parent  of  such  child  is  ill 
and  in  need  of  the  assistance  of  the  child.  Under  these  condi- 
tions, the  child  is  allowed  to  work  temporarily.  All  children 
between  14  and  16  years  of  age  must  be  provided  with  an  age 
and  schooling  certificate;  this  certificate  must  contain  the  age 
and  description  of  the  child,  the  oath  of  the  parent  respecting 
such  age,  which  must  be  verified  by  other  evidence;  the  signa- 
ture of  the  principal  of  the  school  last  attended  by  such  child,  as 
to  age  and  attendance.  All  the  blanks  provided  must  be  kept  on 
file  by  the  employer,  and  constantly  open  to  the  inspection  of  the 
agents  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics.  Failure  to  produce 
such  certificate  is  grounds  for  dismissal  of  the  child  and  prosecu- 
tion of  the  employer.  It  will  be  readily  seen  that  with  this  ma- 
chinery for  enforcement,  a  large  number  of  people  must  co- 
operate with  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  to  make  the  law  effective. 
Immediately  on  the  passage  of  this  enactment  our  office 
communicated  with  every  county  and  city  superintendent  of 
schools  in  the  state,  apprising  them  of  the  requirements  of  the 
law,  and  soliciting  their  aid  to  bring  the  matter  to  the  attention 
of  the  different  school  principals  in  their  several  jurisdictions. 
With  one  or  two  exceptions  this  aid  was  cheerfully  given.  A 
like  cordial  co-operation  was  had  from  the  Parochial  Schools. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  193 

The  newspapers  throughout  the  state  were  likewise  ready  to 
assist,  in  the  neighborhood  of  fifty  of  them  publishing  the  law, 
and  many  commenting  favorably  upon  it.  Only  one  paper  had 
any  criticism  to  offer. 

At  the  expiration  of  sixty  days,  the  time  between  the  pas- 
sage of  the  law  and  its  going  into  effect,  its  provisions  were  well 
known  from  one  end  of  the  state  to  the  other,  and  the  necessary 
blanks  in  the  hands  of  the  proper  officers  for  its  enforcement. 
The  different  school  principals,  recognizing  the  salutary  effect 
that  must  come  from  a  strict  adherence  to  the  term  of  the  law, 
have  been  careful,  in  the  main,  that  no  certificates  were  issued 
except  to  children  rightfully  entitled  to  them,  and  the  juvenile 
courts  have  used  extreme  care  in  issuing  the  permits  for  children 
between  12  and  14  years  of  age  to  work  during  the  illness  of 
their  parents. 

As  the  vacation  approached  blank  forms  for  the  vacation 
permit  were  prepared  and  sent  throughout  the  state,  and  as  far 
as  possible  employers  notified  of  the  vacation  exemption  so  that 
they  might  avail  themselves  of  the  numerous  school  children 
between  the  ages  of  12  and  14,  who  were  now  eligible  under  the 
law  for  employment. 

From  the  very  first  the  law  has  worked  smoothly  and  in  its 
first  year  has  seen  no  hitch  in  its  enforcement.  Employers  recog- 
nizing that  an  earnest  attempt  was  being  made  to  carry  on  its 
provisions,  have  ordinarily  observed  its  requirements.  The  re- 
striction of  the  number  of  hours  minors  under  18  may  work,  to  9 
hours  per  day,  has  met  with  the  most  opposition,  and  this  pro- 
vision has  been  hardest  to  enforce.  But  a  condition  has  now  been 
reached  where  during  the  last  Christmas  vacation  the  large  stores 
provided  two  complete  sets  of  minor  help  per  day,  and  no  child 
worked  in  this  busy  season  more  than  9  hours. 

Some  odd  attempts  have  been  made  by  certain  employers  to 
evade  this  9  hour  limit.  In  San  Francisco  many  establishments 
wished  to  work  five  short  clays  and  one  very  long  one,  in  an 
endeavor  to  adjust  the  law  to  their  business  instead  of  their  busi- 
ness to  the  law,  and  one  large  manufacturing  concern  with  offices 
in  the  east,  gave  orders  to  work  its  boys  a  little  over  10  hours 
per  day  for  five  days  of  the  week,  and  then  lay  them  off  the  sixth, 
thus  keeping  within  the  54  hour  per  week  limit  at  the  expense  of 
their  minor  help.  The  local  management  of  this  firm  was  made  to 
see  that,  eastern  orders  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding,  this  law 
was  passed  in  the  interest  of  the  child  and  not  the  employer,  and 
no  such  patent  evasion  would  be  tolerated  in  this  state.  From 
Los  Angeles  there  comes  a  report  of  one  of  the  cleverest  attempts 


194  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officer's 


to  get  around  this  provision  that  has  yet  come  to  my  notice.  It 
is  reported  that  some  of  the  large  establishments  were  in  the 
habit  of  trading  help  on  Saturday  afternoon,  and  so,  on  the  sur- 
face, keeping  within  the  law. 

I  think  probably  as  much  objection  to  the  Child  Labor  Law 
has  come  from  parents  as  from  any  other  source. 

No  longer  is  the  mere  unsupported  word  of  the  father  or 
mother  taken  as  to  the  age  of  the  child,  but  an  oath  is  required, 
and  this  oath  must  be  verified  by  church,  school  or  government 
records.  Often  have  parents  been  found  ready  to  swear  a  child 
14  when  the  school  records  show  him  to  be  but  11  or  12  years. 
The  attempts  to  explain  these  discrepancies  are  often  amusing. 
Several  instances  have  been  brought  out  where  the  parents  ad- 
mitted that  the  child  had  been  coached  to  give  a  wrong  age  to 
the  railroad  conductor,  in  order  to  escape  paying  fare,  which 
age  from  force  of  habit  was  given  to  the  teacher  when  the  child 
went  to  school ;  in  other  cases  a  child  more  backward  than  chil- 
dren of  his  own  age,  has  given  in  an  age  too  young  to  the  school 
authorities.  In  all  such  cases,  the  parent  to  secure  a  certificate 
is  put  in  the  embarrassing  position  of  having  to  prove  that  either 
he  or  the  child,  or  more  likely  both,  have  lied  on  some  previous 
occasion.  It  is  hard  to  persuade  a  certain  element  in  our  popu- 
lation that  they  have  not  the  divine  right  to  put  out  to  service 
their  young  children.  Great  is  the  indignation  on  the  part  of 
these  abused  parents,  when  they  find  they  can  no  longer  keep 
their  offspring  from  school  to  work  in  the  canneries  or  store  or 
drive  a  wagon,  but  must  now  give  him  the  same  advantages  af- 
forded to  other  children  of  like  age. 

Another  source  of  trouble  in  the  enforcement  of  the  law 
comes  from  certain  well  disposed  and  charitable  people  who,  un- 
der mistaken  charity,  attempt  to  get  the  child  a  job  without  con- 
sidering for  a  moment  whether  such  a  proceeding  will  be  legal 
or  beneficial  to  the  child. 

Some  poor  family  in  the  neighborhood  is  in  need  of  assist- 
ance ;  Johnny,  aged  12,  should  be  able  to  help ;  Mrs.  Smith,  a 
wealthy  neighbor,  buys  several  hundred  dollars'  worth  of  goods 
from  Jones,  the  merchant;  now,  Mrs.  Smith  requests  Mr.  Jones 
to  give  Johnny  a  job.  Jones,  to  use  a  common  expression,  is  "up 
against  it,"  and  if  there  is  not  such  a  rigid  enforcement  of  the  law 
that  leaves  the  merchant  no  doubt  of  detection,  if  he  breaks  it, 
he  will  take  a  chance  rather  than  offend  his  good  customer. 
Several  cries  for  help  have  come  from  merchants  in  this  connec- 
tion, with  the  request  that  our  office  write  direct  to  the  "good 
customer,"  explaining  why  Johnny  can  not  be  employed.  Two 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  195 

gentlemen  called  at  the  office  in  behalf  of  a  boy  under  12;  he  had 
a  mother  and  stepfather  living;  his  mother  was  quite  willing  to 
support  him,  but  would  not  ask  her  husband  to  pay  medical  bills ; 
the  boy  had  an  aggravated  attack  of  trachoma  to  such  an  extent 
that  the  granulations  of  his  eyelids  was  endangering  his  sight ; 
a  medical  specialist  had  expressed  a  willingness  to  treat  the  boy's 
eyes  for  such  wages  as  he  might  be  able  to  obtain ;  a  retail 
butcher  had  been  found  who  was  willing  to  hire  him  at  two  dol- 
lars per  week,  and  all  that  was  needed  was  a  permit  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  law.  The  suggestion  that  a  virulently  con- 
tagious disease  was  scarcely  in  harmony  with  the  handling  of  food 
articles,  was  met  with  the  statement  that  the  boy  was  practically 
passed  the  contagious  stage,  but  it  was  admitted  that  he  was 
expelled  from  the  public  schools  on  account  of  the  contagious 
nature  of  his  ailment.  The  two  gentlemen  pleading  for  the  boy's 
permit  were  the  physician  above  alluded  to,  and  an  officer  of  one 
of  our  prominent  humane  societies  for  the  prevention  of  cruelty 
to  children. 

Recently,  a  lady  wrote  the  Labor  Commissioner  to  the  effect 
that  a  German  corner  groceryman  in  the  heart  of  San  Fran- 
cisco had  in  his  employ  a  boy  of  15  who  had  reached  here  from 
Germany  three  months  previously,  and  was  worked  frequently 
as  long  as  19  hours  in  one  day,  as  clerk  and  barkeeper.  Per- 
sonal investigation  showed  that  the  statements  made  in  the  letter 
were  correct.  At  the  time  of  the  commissioner's  visit  the  boy 
was  acting  as  bartender,  relieving  the  regular  bartender  at  meal 
times.  The  grocery-saloonkeeper  expressed  surprise  at  our 
criticism,  but  admitted  working  the  boy  11  hours  per  day  regu- 
larly, with  an  occasional  day  longer ;  that  is  when  the  regular 
bartender  had  an  evening  off  duty,  this  boy  relieved  him  after 
11  hours  in  the  grocery  store,  until  closing  time,  which  on  Sat- 
urdays reached  1  a.m.  Sunday  morning.  His  employer  posed  as 
a  benefactor,  in  that  he  had  brought  the  boy  from  Germany,  and 
offered  to  teach  him  the  American  grocery  business.  Tn  Sep- 
tember last  the  proprietor  of  a  pickle  factory  was  arrested  for 
the  illegal  employment  of  children.  Evidence  proved  to  the  sat- 
isfaction of  the  court  that  a  little  Italian  girl  aged  10  years  was 
on  the  pay  roll,  and  an  Italian  boy  aged  14  was  put  on  the  stand, 
and  testified  that  he  had  been  employed  at  the  same  establishment 
for  the  past  four  years.  This  boy  could  not  read  or  write  the 
English  language. 

For  the  first  five  months  after  the  law  went  into  effect,  no 
arrests  were  made  for  its  violation.  Constant  inspections  were 
made  with  a  view  of  educating  the  people  to  the  requirements 


396  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


before  subjecting  them  to  the  penalty  for  the  violation  of  a  pro- 
vision which  perhaps  they  did  not  understand. 

It  was  soon  seen,  however,  that  there  would  come  a  time 
that  this  method  would  have  to  be  abandoned.  Certain  un- 
scrupulous employers  can  not  be  reached  by  persuasion,  and 
only  keep  the  law  from  fear  of  its  penalty. 

Early  in  last  September  we  made  our  first  arrest  and  then 
the  real  trouble  began.  Police  courts  did  not  seem  to  realize 
that  summary  action  was  necessary  in  order  to  make  a  law  effect- 
ive. After  some  aggravating  delays  we  were  able  to  overcome 
this  difficulty  with  the  courts  and  then  the  attorneys  began  to 
attack  the  constitutionality  of  the  law.  It  was  surprising  to  find 
how  little  discretion  the  Legislature  had  shown  in  passing  the 
law.  A  regular  onslaught  of  objections  was  urged  and  it  would 
seem  that  nothing  therein  contained  was  legal  or  beneficial  to  the 
children.  And  the  most  surprising  thing  on  the  part  of  these 
attorneys  was  their  great  solicitude  for  the  invaded  rights  of 
these  children.  In  one  case  a  boy  was  killed  in  an  elevator  while 
illegally  employed.  The  boy  was  not  an  orphan,  yet  the  attor- 
ney for  the  employer  based  his  entire  argument  on  the  fact  that 
by  this  law  the  rights  of  orphans  were  not  protected.  In  an- 
other case,  a  boy  illegally  working  was  killed  by  an  explosion 
in  the  engine  room  of  a  vessel  and  several  other  boys  were  in- 
jured, and  here  the  attorneys  were  especially  agitated  over  the 
fact  that  certain  schools  were  discriminated  against  in  the  matter 
of  vacation !  And  so  in  every  case  a  solicitude  was  begot  in 
these  professional  men  for  the  invaded  rights  of  children,  when 
it  was  seen  that  the  law  was  likely  to  exact  a  penalty  from  their 
clients. 

Only  last  Tuesday,  Judge  Carroll  Cook  of  the  Superior  Court 
in  San  Francisco  handed  down  a  decision  sustaining  the  law  in 
every  respect,  and  declaring  it  "a  valid  police  and  health  regula- 
tion, fully  justified  both  under  the  State  and  Federal  Constitu- 
tion." The  defendants  have  signified  an  intention  of  going  to 
the  Supreme  Court.  In  any  event,  there  will  be  no  cessation  of 
endeavor  on  the  part  of  my  office  to  enforce  the  law,  and  in  the 
event  of  an  adverse  decision,  we  shall  certainly  go  before  the 
Legislature  at  its  next  session  demanding  a  law  that  will  stand. 
\Yhile  there  have  been  refractory  employers,  and  resort  to  the 
court  has  been  necessary  on  some  occasions,  yet  the  general  atti- 
tude has  been  all  that  could  be  desired.  The  large  establish- 
ments have  been  especially  careful  in  adjusting  their  business  to 
the  requirements  of  the  law.  One  large  department  store  in  San 
Francisco,  the  largest  in  the  state,  employs  ordinarily  more  than 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  197 

a  thousand  people,  and  over  fifteen  hundred  during  the  holiday 
season.  In  this  store  there  are  over  three  hundred  children 
working-  throughout  the  year,  and  in  the  weeks  just  passed  it 
was  found  necessary  to  employ  double  this  number,  yet  every 
one  of  these  minors  had  the  required  certificate,  and  not  one  of 
them  worked  more  than  nine  hours  per  day.  The  management 
of  this  establishment,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  Child 
Labor  Law  has  cost  them  much  money  and  time  in  adjusting 
their  large  force  to  meet  its  requirements,  are  cordially  in  favor  of 
such  legislation,  and  view  with  solicitude  the  attacks  upon  its  con- 
stitutionality. Other  illustrations  could  be  given  to  the  same 
effect,  and  it  is  my  experience  that  the  larger  the  establishment 
and  the  greater  the  effort  necessary  to  keep  within  this  law,  the 
more  cheerful  and  strict  the  compliance  with  its  terms. 

In  enforcing  this  law,  myself  and  agents  have  visited  and 
secured  complete  data  from  1386  different  establishments  employ- 
ing 52,842  people.  Of  this  total  employment,  7592  are  minors 
under  18  yeare  of  age,  and  of  these  minors  1764  are  boys  and 
1861  are  girls,  between  the  ages  of  16  and  18,  and  1778  are  boys, 
and  2189  are  girls  between  the  ages  of  14  and  16  years.  Thus 
it  is  seen  that  \4y2  per  cent  of  all  the  people  employed  in  this 
state,  in  stores  and  factories,  are  minors  under  18,  judging  by 
these  results  obtained  from  a  very  large  number  of  establish- 
ments in  different  parts  of  the  state. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  percentage  of  children  used  in 
different  industries  varies  with  the  nature  of  the  work  to  be  per- 
formed. .In  department  stores  about  19  per  cent  is  usually  re- 
quired, and  in  dry  goods  stores  10  per  cent.  In  this  connection 
it  may  be  remarked  that  while  the  percentages  of  minors  in 
stores  of  this  sort  in  San  Francisco  is  but  8  in  Los  Angeles  it 
amounts  to  15  per  cent. 

In  factories  the  percentages  are  somewhat  lower,  running 
from  1  per  cent  in  the  iron  and  kindred  trades,  to  12  per  cent  in 
the  box  factories,  can-m!aking  establishments,  etc.  Our  office  has 
detailed  information  showing  the  percentages  in  all  the  different 
branches  of  labor,  which  percentages  I  deem  it  would  be  tire- 
some to  present  here.  The  canneries,  however,  employ  from  \r> 
to  35  per  cent,  the  average  being  about  25  per  cent. 

We  are  all  familiar  with  the  croaker  who  continually  asks 
"What  is  the  use  of  such  a  law?" — the  man  who  bemoans  the 
fate  of  a  nation  that  will  tolerate  such  so-called  paternal  legisla- 
tion. The  answer  to  these  questions,  so  far  as  the  Child  Labor 
Law  is  concerned,  is  found  in  results.  The  thousands  of  chil- 
dren between  the  ages  of  7  and  14  years  that  heretofore  have 


198  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

been  ruining  their  health,  and  neglecting  their  education  in  the 
stores  and  factories,  are  now  no  longer  seen  in  their  customary 
places  of  employment.  Where  they  have  gone  may  be  gathered 
from  the  school  records  of  the  different  cities.  The  school  at- 
tendance in  San  Francisco  alone  has  increased  by  over  2000,  and 
fully  5000  children  in  the  state  are  now  in  the  school  that  were 
formerly  at  work.  By  taking  the  profit  away  that  in  the  past 
has  gone  to  the  parents  when  their  small  children  were  employed, 
you  have  made  these  same  parents  the  most  efficient  attendance 
officers  to  be  found  in  the  state.  It  has  been  the  policy  of  the 
Bureau  of  Labor  to  follow  up  every  child  discharged  on  account 
of  his  youth,  and  see  as  far  as  possible  that  such  child  was  put 
into  school.  Thus  the  change  has  not  been  from  the  store  or 
factory  to  the  even  more  demoralizing  street,  but  from  the  store 
or  factory  to  the  school.  Not  only  have  the  young  children  been 
taken  from  the  employment,  but  the  older  ones  between  14  and 
18  are  no  longer  permitted  to  work  excessively  long  hours,  some- 
times 12  and  14  hours  per  day,  but  now  they  are  restricted  to 
the  9  hours  allowed  by  the  law.  The  very  small  children,  all 
those  under  14,  except  in  vacations,  can  no  longer  be  required 
to  work  after  school,  but  are  now,  like  any  other  young  animal, 
allowed  to  play  during  these  hours. 

This  restriction  has  been  productive  of  much  complaint  from 
certain  well  meaning  individuals,  but  I  believe  play  is  absolutely 
essential  to  the  proper  development  of  the  child,  and  the  proces- 
sion from  the  school  to  workshop  or  store,  there  to  stay,  in  many 
instances,  until  late  at  night,  cannot  but  be  productive  of  evil 
results. 

The  consideration  of  this  latter  phase  of  the  child  labor 
problem  has  brought  to  my  attention  one  of  the  crying  shames 
of  our  cities — the  lack  of  accessible  play  grounds  for  children. 
I  say  accessible  advisedly,  for  most  cities  have  plenty  of  acreage 
given  over  to  parks  and  breathing  places,  but  it  is  usually  the 
case  that  these  parks  are  located  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  ele- 
gant residence  section,  and  distant  from  the  modest  dwellings 
that  house  those  who  are  poorer  in  this  world's  goods,  but  gener- 
ally richer  in  children.  In  San  Francisco,  for  example,  the  two 
square  miles  south  of  Market  street  where  live  the  mechanic,  the 
clerk,  and  the  laborer,  and  where  children  abound,  has  1  1-3 
blocks  given  over  to  parks  and  play  grounds,  while  the  two 
square  miles  containing  the  greatest  wealth  and  the  fewest  chil- 
dren, has  24  blocks  adorned  with  parks  and  open  squares,  exclus- 
ive of  Golden  Gate  Park  and  its  Pan-handle. 

Another  aspect  of  this  question  is  shown  in  the  increased 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  199 

demand  for  boys  and  girls  over  14  years  of  age,  and  the  conse- 
quent rise  in  the  wages  paid  such  employes.  A  year  ago  very 
often  three  boys  in  the  same  family,  12,  14  and  16  years  of  age, 
would  be  working.  Now  the  youngest  is  in  school  regularly,  and 
the  other  two  are  earning  more  than  the  three  did  before  the  law 
became  operative. 

This  effect  has  been  brought  about  without  hurt  to  any  indi- 
vidual employer,  for  it  bears  on  all  alike,  and  the  burden  has 
been  passed  up  to  some  of  the  rest  of  us,  and  now  without  any 
charity  but  merely  with  a  little  better  distribution,  two  years 
longer  in  the  school  has  been  given  to  the  youngest  of  these  boys. 
Older  boys  and  girls  are  being  used  than  formerly  to  do  the  same 
work,  and  consequently  the  work  is  better  done. 

The  people  interested  in  the  canning  industry  felt  that  such 
legislation  would  be  detrimental  to  their  interest,  but  after  one 
year's  trial  under  strict  enforcement,  they  are  unanimous  in  their 
verdict  that  the  fruit  crop  of  the  past  year  was  put  up  not  only 
in  a  more  cleanly  condition,  but  with  less  bother  and  annoyances. 
And  so  with  other  industries,  more  wages  must  be  paid  but  better 
work  is  the  result. 

Ninety  per  cent  of  the  people  of  this  state  are  behind  the 
Child  Labor  Law  and  interested  in  seeing  it  enforced,  and  en- 
forced it  shall  be  as  long  as  it  is  my  work,  and  I  hope,  as  long 
as  parents  and  employers  are  greedy  or  thoughtless  and  children 
helpless. 

In  conclusion  I  desire  to  express  my  high  appreciation  of  the 
aid  given  our  office  by  the  superintendents  and  principals  of  both 
the  public  and  parochial  schools,  and  the  officials  of  the  several 
juvenile  courts,  as  well  as  all  others  interested  in  the  protection 
and  education  of  children,  for  it  is  only  through  such  efforts  that 
the  highest  standard  of  citizenship  can  be  assured. 


The  Juvenile  Court,  with  Special 
Reference  to  Its  Ramifications 

By   Hon.   Curtis   D.    Wilbur 

Superior  Judge,   Los   Angeles   County 

We  often  hear  of  a  "live  problem,"  but  if  there  is  any  livelier 
problem  than  a  boy  under  sixteen  years  of  age  I  have  not  been 
able  to  discover  it.  When  it  is  stated  that  the  aim  of  the  juvenile 
court,  acting  for  the  state,  is  to  reform,  control  and  direct  such 
a  boy  in  his  own  home  and  in  his  natural  environment,  the  far- 
reaching  nature  of  the  undertaking  and  the  infinite  ramifica- 
tions of  the  subject  are  so  forcibly  presented  to  our  minds  that  it 
can  only  be  necessary  in  an  address  of  this  kind  to  touch  upon 
some  of  the  leading  points  involved  in  the  problem. 

The  first  problem  is  the  one  I  have  already  suggested  as  the 
aim  of  the  juvenile  court — to  reform  a  boy  in  his  own  surround- 
ing and  environment,  and,  if  he  has  one,  so  far  as  possible  in  his 
own  home — to  keep  the  child  out  of  institutions  so  far  as  possible, 
for  the  institutionalized  child  is  like  a  hot-house  plant,  perfect, 
perhaps,  in  every  way  apparent  to  the  closest  observer,  yet  lack- 
ing that  undefinable  and  undiscernible  something  that  can  stand 
the  rough  winds  and  the  harsh  treatment  of  real  outdoor  life. 
The  problem  is  to  teach  the  child  to  meet  and  overcome  tempta- 
tion manfully  rather  than  to  avoid  it. 

It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  juvenile  court  problem  is  as 
wide,  as  deep  and  as  far-reaching  as  the  problem  of  life  itself. 
Everything  that  affects  the  bodily  health  or  welfare,  the  intellec- 
tual improvement  or  the  soul  of  the  boy  is  involved  in  the  juve- 
nile court  problem.  It  is  obvious,  too,  when  the  problem  is  thus 
stated,  that  it  is  one  that  cannot  be  solved  in  any  case  by  one 
hearing  and  one  adjudication  by  a  court,  but  that  the  problem  is 
one  of  years. 

The  problem  confronting  the  juvenile  court  officials  is  so 
great  and  far-reaching,  so  involved  and  complex,  so  impossible  of 
complete  solution,  that  the  real  danger  of  this  work  is  that  the 
officers  undertaking  it  shall  be  paralized  by  its  very  enormity  and 
rest  in  hopeless  apathy,  in  temporary  expedients  or  mechanical 
processes;  in  other  words,  that  we  shall  do  as  has  been  done  in 
so  many  similar  branches  of  the  same  work — trust  in  general 
application  of  mechanical  methods. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  201 

PUBLIC  INTEREST. 

It  must  be  apparent  that  the  only  way  to  overcome  this  dan- 
ger is  in  the  intelligent  co-operation  of  a  large  number  of  people 
in  the  solution  of  the  problem.  It  is  because  of  this  fact  that  the 
juvenile  court  committee  provided  for  by  the  law,  and  the  juve- 
nile court  association  frequently  formed  to  sustain  the  work  of 
the  juvenile  court,  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  It  is  important 
that  public  interest  should  be  aroused  in  all  possible  ways,  not 
only  because  of  the  stimulus  that  their  interest  lends  to  the  work, 
but  because  it  is  in  the  intelligent  co-operation  of  the  public  that 
the  hope  of  the  work  largely  lies.  To  my  mind  the  most  hopeful 
thing  in  connection  with  the  work  of  the  juvenile  court  is  the 
fact  that  so  many  people  seem  ready  to  rally  around  the  juvenile 
court  as  the  center  of  activity.  It  is  surprising  to  me  how  many 
people  are  interested  and  in  how  many  ways  that  interest  is 
manifested.  It  is  because  of  this  peculiar  fact,  this  sentiment 
which  can  not  be  altogether  explained  but  which  surely  exists, 
that  makes  the  work  so  hopeful  and  justifies  me  in  speaking  of 
many  important  phases  of  life  as  ramifications  of  the  juvenile 
court  work. 

THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

In  one  other  branch  of  our  government,  the  most  important 
one,  which  is  the  public  school,  we  have  taken  hold  of  this  prob- 
lem as  a  life  problem;  that  state,  through  its  public  schools,  has 
undertaken  to  control  and  direct  the  major  portion  of  the  time  and 
efforts  of  the  children  of  the  state  from  the  time  they  are 
four  years  old  in  the  kindergarten  until  at  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-one or  twenty-two  as  adults  they  graduate  from  the  state 
university.  No  such  magnificent  effort  has  ever  before  been 
made  in  the  history  of  the  world,  and  in  this  system  and  in  this 
effort  lies  the  great  hope  of  our  institutions  and  of  the  perpetuity 
of  our  government.  Here  it  is  that  the  people  have  been  willing 
to  expend  such  vast  sums  of  money  so  liberally,  and,  indeed,  lav- 
ishly, that  it  might  almost  be  said  that  the  government  of  the 
United  States  and  all  subordinate  state  and  municipal  govern- 
ments were  maintained  in  the  main  for  the  purpose  of  carrying 
on  the  work  of  education  of  children  through  the  public  schools. 
It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  efforts  of  the  officers  of  the  juvenile 
court  in  many  instances  consist  largely  in  attempting  to  keep 
children  in  the  public  schools.  Indeed,  that  is  one  of  the  cardi- 
nal purposes  of  the  juvenile  court  as  disclosed  by  the  law  itself, 
for  persistent  truants  from  school  are  made  amenable  to  the  juris- 
diction of  the  juvenile  court. 


202  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

It  follows,  therefore,  that  we  are  peculiarly  interested  in 
what  is  taught  in  the  public  schools,  and  we  are  interested  in 
that  phase  of  teaching  which  the  general  public  is  less  apt  to 
consider,  namely,  that  the  teacher  shall  live  up  fully  to  the  obli- 
gation imposed  upon  her  by  law  to  teach  the  principles  of  moral- 
ity. 

While  the  general  sentiment  with  reference  to  the  public 
schools  is  that  their  purpose  is  to  impart  information  and  inci- 
dentally develop  character,  the  point  emphasized  to  those  of  us 
dealing  with  incorrigible,  dependent  and  delinquent  children  is 
that  the  public  schools  must  develop  character  where  there  is 
little  basis  to  build  upon  and  with  little  assistance  from  the 
home.  We  must  rely  upon  them  for  this  purpose  and  that  is 
really  the  most  important  function  of  the  public  school.  It  is 
particularly  important  to  us  that  the  habit  of  expelling  children 
from  the  public  schools  should  be  dispensed  with,  and  we  neces- 
sarily advocate  that  there  should  be  a  place  in  the  public  schools 
for  every  one  who  is  willing  or  can  be  forced  to  attend.  While 
the  public  has  been  wonderfully  willing  to  spend  money  for  the 
public  schools,  it  has  not  yet  thoroughly  grasped  the  proposi- 
tion that  the  millions  spent  annually  for  the  support  of  the  re- 
formatories, insane  asylums,  state  prisons  and  various  charitable 
institutions  might  with  profit  be  largely  diverted  to  the  preven- 
tion of  these  evils  by  enlarging  the  field  occupied  by  the  public 
school.  The  public  has  not  yet  learned  that  it  is  more  economical 
to  employ  a  teacher  to  teach  three  or  four  incorrigible  children 
than  it  is  to  run  the  risk  of  their  going  to  reformatories  and  be- 
ing an  equal  or  greater  expense  to  the  state.  We  of  the  juvenile 
court  are  interested  in  seeing  that  there  is  in  the  public  schools 
more  manual  training  for  those  children  who  drop  out  of  school 
because  of  their  abhorence  of  the  purely  intellectual  development. 
We  regard  as  extremely  hopeful  the  advance  already  made  in  that 
line  and  believe  the  time  will  come  when  it  will  be  placed  on  a 
par  with  the  intellectual  advancement  and  be  recognized  as  a 
very  important  adjunct  and  stimulus  to  that  advancement.  I 
am  proud  to  say  that  from  almost  the  inception  of  the  work  in 
Los  Angeles  county  \ve  have  had  a  public  school  teacher  in  the 
detention  home  conducting  a  school  which  all  the  inmates  are 
obliged  to  attend. 

THE  SUNDAY  SCHOOL  AND  CHURCH. 

Recognizing  that  all  human  actions  spring  from  the  impulses 
and  determinations  of  the  human  heart,  it  follows  that  the  officers 
of  the  juvenile  court  are  necessarily  interested  in  keeping  the 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  203 


child  under  its  jurisdiction  and  under  the  influence  and  teaching 
of  the  church,  to  which  it  naturally  belongs.  The  really  impor- 
tant thing  which  is  taught  by  all  the  churches  and  which  should 
be  taught  in  all  of  the  public  schools  is  the  idea  of  individual 
responsibility  to  God,  who  knoweth  the  inmost  thoughts  of  the 
heart.  In  the  cultivation  of  this  belief  and  thought  is  the  only 
hope  of  real  reform  or  regeneration,  so  that  the  work  of  the 
probation  officer  must  involve  placing  of  a  child  so  far  as  possible 
in  a  congenial,  religious  atmosphere.  It  follows  then  that  the 
juvenile  court  is  necessarily  allied  to  and  with  all  the  institutions 
managed  by  the  churches  for  the  betterment  of  the  young  to 
which  the  children  under  its  jurisdiction  may  be  committed,  or 
from  which  they  may  come  under  the  supervision  of  the  court. 
We  are  interested  in  the  manner  in  which  all  these  institutions 
are  conducted,  for  upon  them  and  upon  the  instruction  received 
in  the  church  and  in  the  school  we  must  largely  rely  for  our  hope 
that  some  permanent  good  may  be  done  to  the  child  under  the 
direction  of  the  court.  Comparatively  few  of  the  children  com- 
ing before  the  juvenile  court  have  been  in  the  habit  of  attending 
either  the  church  or  Sunday  school.  Some  of  them  have  been 
densely  ignorant  of  some  of  the  most  fundamental  religious  truths 
and  of  religious  history.  The  acquaintance  of  some  with  the 
Saviour  has  been  confined  largely  to  the  knowledge  derived  from 
the  profane  use  of  his  name  upon  the  streets.  In  passing  from 
this  subject  let  me  here  express  my  appreciation  of  the  hearty  sup- 
port of  the  church  people  of  all  denominations,  the  Protestant 
and  Catholic,  in  the  work  of  the  juvenile  court.  I  wish,  without 
discounting  the  work  done  by  any  other  institution  or  denomina- 
tion, and  partly  because  I  am  not  myself  of  that  faith,  to  express 
my  appreciation  of  the  work  done  by  the  Home  of  the  Good 
Shepherd,  a  home  for  erring  girls. 

THE  SEX  QUESTION. 

Of  the  cases  of  children  coming  before  the  juvenile  court  for 
sexual  crimes,  I  believe  more  than  half  arc  due  to  the  dense  ig- 
norance upon  those  subjects.  Judge  Lindsey  of  the  Denver  juve- 
nile court  is  reported  to  have  said  in  a  recent  interview  that  99 
per  cent  of  the  delinquencies  of  the  children  could  be  traced  to 
the  sex  question.  I  am  not  prepared  to  agree  with  this  state- 
ment and  I  am  not  sure  that  it  was  made.  It  must  be.  however, 
patent  to  every  thoughtful  person  that  our  present  ostrich-like 
method  of  dealing  with  the  sex  question  is  the  height  of  absurd- 
ity. We  not  only  teach  children  lies,  to  their  ultimate  damna- 
tion in  some  cases,  but  in  many  instances  their  faith  in  their  own 


204  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

parents  is  destroyed  by  the  deceitful  subterfuges  and  lies  handed 
down  from  parent  to  child.  I  am  aware  that  this  is  an  exceed- 
ingly delicate  subject,  and  should  be  handled  as  such.  Childish 
curiosity  will  have  an  answer  and  the  question  for  us  to  deter- 
mine is  whether  that  answer  shall  come  from  sympathetic  and 
loving  teacher,  or  parent,  or  from  the  moral  degenerates  and  sex- 
ual perverts  seeking  the  downfall  of  the  boy  or  girl,  for  there  is 
no  doubt  that  boys  as  well  as  girls  can  be  seduced  and  fall.  For 
my  part,  I  don't  want  the  devil  or  any  of  his  cohorts  instructing 
my  children  upon  this  or  any  other  subject. 

ALCOHOL,  NARCOTICS  AND  CIGARETTES. 

The  officers  of  the  juvenile  court  are  necessarily  interested 
in  the  enactment  and  enforcement  of  the  laws  which  will  prevent 
children  from  ruining  their  bodies  and  wrecking  their  souls  by 
the  use  of  any  drug  or  stimulant  or  narcotic.  Nothing  is  quite 
so  hopeless  as  a  mere  child  who  has  become  a  slave  to  the  cigar- 
ette, unless  it  is  one  who  has  become  addicted  to  the  cocaine  or 
morphine  habit.  Unfortunately,  there  are  such.  So  the  juvenile 
court  is  interested  in  anything  that  attempts  to  prevent  lewdness 
or  obscenity  among  children. 

THE  HUMANE  SOCIETY. 

\Yhile  we  have  been  accustomed  to  the  thought  that  the 
Juvenile  Court  Law  is  something  new,  the  fact  is  that  in  1878  a 
law  with  reference  to  the  incorporation  of  the  humane  societies, 
defining  their  duties  and  the  offenses  or  delinquencies  which 
they  might  take  cognizance  of,  was  passed  in  this  State,  which 
contains  substantially  the  same  provisions  with  reference  to  the 
children  that  the  present  juvenile  court  law  does.  The  present 
law  merely  adds  to  the  previous  law  machinery  for  the  more  effi- 
cient carrying  out  of  the  law.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  work 
of  the  juvenile  court  and  of  the  humane  society  are  practically 
one.  The  work  of  the  humane  society,  of  course,  is  broader  in 
that  it  deals  with  the  public  generally,  while  the  work  of  the 
court  is  confined  to  the  children  brought  before  it.  It  makes 
little  difference  which  claims  to  be  the  branch  and  which  the 
trunk.  The  work  is  one,  and  we  rejoice  in  the  exceedingly 
hearty  co-operation  of  the  Los  Angeles  Humane  Society  and  all 
its  officers. 

THE  HOME. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  for  me  to  mention  the  interest  which 
the  officers  of  the  juvenile  court  must  take  in  the  home  of  the 
child.  This  is  so  patent  that  it  need  not  be  discussed  by  me, 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  205 


but  all  laws  for  the  enforcement  of  domestic  rights  which  re- 
quire father  and  mother  to  do  their  duty,  and  which  protect  chil- 
dren in  the  home,  are  of  interest  to  and  directly  bear  upon  the 
problems  of  the  juvenile  court.  And  on  this  most  important  sub- 
ject I  say  so  little  only  because  it  is  too  obvious  to  require  dis- 
cussion or  comment. 

THE  CHILD  LABOR  LAW  AND  THE  COMPULSORY 
SCHOOL  LAW. 

Since  1878  we  have  had  upon  the  statute  books  of  the  State 
of  California  a  compulsory  school  law  commanding  the  attend- 
ance of  children  under  fourteen  years  of  age  at  the  schools.  The 
difficulty  with  the  law,  and  it  was  only  a  very  small  difficulty, 
yet  so  vital  as  to  practically  destroy  the  usefulness  of  the  law, 
was  this :  The  only  punishment  provided  in  case  of  the  violation 
of  the  law  was  a  fine  without  imprisonment  imposed  upon  the 
parent.  As  practically  all  parents  who  kept  their  children  out 
of  school  were  execution-proof  this  was  sufficient  to  defeat  the 
law.  The  parental  school  law  will,  in  a  large  measure,  I  think, 
be  supplanted  by  the  Juvenile  Court  Law  which  makes  per- 
sistent truants  from  school,  as  already  stated,  dependent  children. 
Perhaps  a  more  perfect  definition  of  what  constitutes  a  persistent 
truant  should  be  incorporated  in  the  law,  but  with  such  definition 
I  think  there  will  be  no  necessity  for  a  separate  statute.  This  law 
takes  hold  of  the  child  and  puts  him  in  school  and  keeps  him 
there  regardless  of  the  parents'  wishes. 

Co-operation  with  this  is  the  child  labor  law,  which  prohibits 
children  under  sixteen  from  working  unless  they  are  able  to  read 
and  write,  and  prohibits  children  under  fourteen  and  over  twelve 
from  laboring.  This  is  a  most  effective  compulsory  school  law, 
for,  if  the  children  can  not  work  and  earn  money  for  the  benefit 
of  the  parents,  the  parents  usually  will  be  glad  to  get  rid  of  them 
by  putting  them  in  the  schools.  Here,  too,  in  passing,  I  may 
mention  the  fact  that  a  slight  change  in  the  law  revolutionized  it 
from  an  ineffective  to  a  most  effective  statute.  The  law  of  1903, 
which  punished  the  child  and  the  parent,  provided  no  officers 
who  should  see  to  its  enforcement,  and  was  practically  a  dead  let- 
ter, while  the  law  of  1905  which  punishes  the  employer  has  been 
almost  self-executing.  This  law.  it  should  be  said  in  passing, 
has  imposed  on  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  the  duty  of  issu- 
ing permits  to  all  children  under  fourteen,  and,  therefore,  may 
very  properly  be  classed  as  one  of  the  ramifications  ol  the  Juve- 
nile Court  Law. 


206  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

ENFORCEMENT  OF  THE  LAW. 

All  the  officers  of  the  juvenile  court  are  necessarily  intensely 
interested  in  the  enforcement  of  the  laws  for  the  protection  of 
children.  In  Denver  this  work  seems  to  have  been  thrust  in  some 
way  into  the  hands  of  the  juvenile  cqurt.  Perhaps  the  judge  has 
taken  hold  of  it  without  specific  or  legislative  authority  (and  I 
say  it  without  intent  to  criticise),  ignoring  the  fundamental  divi- 
sion of  the  government  into  executive,  judicial  and  legislative 
officials. 

We  would  like  to  see  some  means  taken  to  head  off  the  terri- 
ble demoralization  of  the  messenger  force  and  some  effort  made 
to  enforce  the  laws  preventing  such  boys  from  being  sent  into 
improper  places.  The  legislation  upon  this  subject  is  futile  un- 
less enforced.  We  wish  that  the  good  people  who  sought  and 
procured  legislation  upon  this  subject  and  upon  the  subject  of 
giving  alcohol  to  children  in  saloons  would  follow  up  their  efforts 
by  enforcing  the  law. 

NEW  LEGISLATION. 

While  the  court,  as  such,  is  not  supposed  to  have  any  inter- 
est except  in  enforcing  the  laws  as  they  exist,  the  judge,  and  also 
the  court,  is  necessarily  interested  in  such  legislation  as  will  be 
helpful,  and  in  this  connection  I  would  say  that  I  believe  that 
the  juvenile  court  is  the  entering  wedge  which  will  assist  us  in 
overcoming  the  fossilized  and  moss-grown  traditions  which  sur- 
round and  render  ridiculous  our  criminal  courts,  by  the  adoption 
of  legislation  which  will  tend  to  place  truth  telling  at  a  premium, 
rather  than  perjury,  on  the  part  of  the  defendant.  Legislation 
will  have  for  a  subject  the  prinicple  which  is  now  recognized  as 
the  guiding  star  in  all  prison  reform,  namely,  the  reformation  or 
permanent  incarceration  of  the  criminal.  The  question  of  prison 
reform,  probation  of  adult  offenders,  and  parole  prisoners  is  par- 
ticularly interesting  to  those  connected  with  the  juvenile  court  for 
the  reason  that  five  or  six  years  from  now  probably  fifty  or  sixty 
per  cent,  of  the  cases  which  come  before  the  criminal  court  will 
be  cases  of  those  who  have  come  under  the  wing  of  the  juvenile 
court  and  have  failed  of  reformation  therein.  May  I  suggest 
some  new  legislation  which,  it  seems  to  me,  should  be  had? 
First — A  constitutional  amendment  authorizing  a  conviction  in  a 
criminal  case  by  less  than  twelve  jurors,  say  three-fourths.  This 
is  followed  in  the  civil  cases  in  the  Stale,  and  the  innovation  in 
that  regard  has  proven  eminently  satisfactory  here.  Second — 
Laws  tending  to  suppress  the  use  of  cigarettes,  alcoholics  and 
narcotics  among  children,  and  while  there  are  such  now,  it  seems 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  207 

to  me  that  a  law  punishing  the  child,  or  at  least  making  the  child 
amenable  to  the  juvenile  court,  would  obviate  many  of  the  diffi- 
culties of  proof  which  now  exist.*  Third — A  law  providing  that 
girls  should  not  attain  their  majority  until  the  age  of  twenty-one 
years.t  There  seems  to  be  no  just  reason  for  the  present  law 
which  makes  a  girl  of  age  at  eighteen  and  certainly  she  should 
not  be  allowed  to  become  a  habitual  prostitute  in  the  teeth  of 
the  objection  of  her  friends  and  relatives  before  she  has  arrived 
at  that  age.  A  number  of  such  cases  come  to  my  attention  and 
have  forcibly  illustrated  the  folly  of  our  present  plan.  The  amend- 
ment to  the  Whittier  law  which  permitted  an  incorrigible  child 
to  be  retained  there  until  twenty-one  years  of  age  was  certainly 
a  step  in  the  right  direction. $  In  view  of  the  law  which  per- 
mits adults  as  well  as  minors  to  be  placed  upon  probation,  there 
should  be  in  every  county  a  paid  probation  officer.  §This  would 
be  economy  and  is,  in  fact,  an  absolute  necessity.  Fourth — 
There  should  be  some  more  stringent  laws  in  regard  to  vagrancy. 
Unfortunately,  by  a  certain  class  of  public  officials  in  California, 
these  are  regarded  as  a  sort  of  perennial  crop  to  be  harvested  at 
the  proper  season  of  the  year,  and  this  is  not  surprising  in  view 
of  the  present  inadequate  plan  of  dealing  with  the  question.  A 
justice  of  the  peace,  who  was  congratulating  himself  upon  the 
good  harvest  in  this  direction,  asked  me  whether  or  not  I  thought 
ten  days  was  about  the  right  sentence  in  such  cases.  I  felt  that 
under  the  circumstances  I  could  not  answer  the  question  with 
propriety,  but  I  will  now  answer  it  by  saying  I  would  advocate 
life  imprisonment  for  the  incorrigible  and  wilful  vagrant,  with 
proper  opportunity,  of  course,  for  parole  upon  disclosure  of  an 
intent  to  reform.  Why  we  should  allow  these  men  to  over-run 
the  country,  committing  all  sorts  of  heinous  crimes,  wrecking 
trains,  raping  women,  and  rely  upon  our  ability,  or  the  ability 
of  our  officers  to  prove  beyond  reasonable  doubt  the  identity  of 
the  individual  who  perpetrates  the  crime,  is  difficult  to  answer, 
unless  we  attribute  it  to  the  love  of  the  brother  which  so  thor- 
oughly permeates  the  grain  and  fibre  of  our  citizenship. 

*See  Juvenile  Court,  1911,  Sec.  1. 

tSee  Juvenile  Court,    1911,   Sec.    1. 

JSee  Juvenile  Court,  1911,  Sec.  5.  18. 

§See  Juvenile  Court,   1911,  Sec.   10. 


Probation  Work 

By  Judge   H.   H.   Klamroth 

Pasadena 

After  the  very  lucid  and  complete  exposition  of  the  subject 
of  the  juvenile  court,  including  probation,  by  our  worthy  and 
able  Judge  Wilbur,  there  seems  very  little  for  me  to  say  except 
that  his  natural  modesty  has  opened  the  loop-hole  for  me  that  I 
desire. 

While  other  cities  and  counties  have  their  juvenile  judges, 
of  whom  they  are  proud;  while  other  juvenile  courts  have  their 
judges  whose  utterances  and  opinions  are  quoted  the  country 
over,  we  of  Los  Angeles  county,  we  of  the  probation  board,  feel 
convinced  that  we  have  about  the  best  of  them  all. 

Judge  Wilbur  inaugurated  the  system  of  the  juvenile  court 
in  this  county,  when  the  law  left  so  much  unsaid,  so  much  uncer- 
tain, so  much  incomplete  and  placed  it  upon  a  firm  and  lasting 
foundation  ;  with  a  firmness  of  purpose  born  of  conviction,  with 
a  keen  insight  into  human  nature,  with  tact  and  patience,  and  a 
firm  belief  in  the  justice  and  necessity  of  the  law,  he  has  met 
with  objections  and  technicalities  and  sent  them  down  before 
him  to  defeat ;  and  now  his  plans  and  suggestions  have  been  fol- 
lowed in  the  drafting  of  the  new  juvenile  court  bill  under  which 
he  and  the  probation  officers  are  so  ably  and  faithfully  working. 
Through  his  ability  and  the  faithful  endeavors  of  our  probation 
officers,  Rev.  A.  C.  Dodds,  and  also  Mrs.  F.  H.  Byram,  the  juve- 
nile court  and  its  methods  in  this  county  have  long  since  passed 
out  of  the  experimental  stage  and  it  is  now  universally  conceded, 
even  by  our  former  worst  enemies,  that  the  conception  of  this 
juvenile  court  movement  has  been  a  factor  for  more  good  to  the 
masses  than  any  other  movement  that  has  been  presented  in 
years. 

And  during  these  years  when  our  ship  was  sailing  the  tort- 
uous channels  of  public  criticism  and  buffeting  the  storm  of 
unfair  judgment  it  was  only  because  of  the  able  captain,  our 
judge,  and  his  two  mates,  our  probation  officers,  assisted  earn- 
estly and  indefatigably  by  the  ladies  of  the  probation  committee, 
that  we  picked  the  tortuous  channel  and  weathered  the  storm  to 
enter  the  harbor  of  our  desire. 

Our  chief  probation  officer,  Captain  Dodds,  certainly  de- 
serves much  credit  for  our  success.  Coming  here  an  utter 
stranger,  but  with  a  reputation  for  good  work  and  untiring 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  209 

energy,  he  took  hold  of  the  untried  work  here,  amid  a  storm  of 
opposition,  and  has  carried  his  part  to  a  most  successful  issue, 
until  now  he  is  consulted  and  applauded  by  his  former  worst 
critics  and  opponents. 

To  the  probation  committee,  of  which  I  have  had  the  honor 
of  being  chairman  since  its  inception,  and  which  position  has  car- 
ried with  it  mostly  honor  and  very  little  work,  for  I  am  naturally 
lazy,  belongs  much  praise  and  commendation. 

The  law  as  it  read  and  as  it  now  reads,  puts  very  little  re- 
sponsibility on  this  committee,  but  we  seemed  to  read  between 
the  lines  the  necessity  under  the  old  law  of  providing  the  sinews 
of  war,  money,  for  the  payment  of  officers,  of  board  and  lodging 
for  the  homeless  juveniles  and  for  the  many  purposes  included  in 
the  work  and  under  the  new  law,  which,  wisely  for  Los  Angeles 
county,  has  provided  for  certain  salaries.  But  we  still  find  our- 
selves facing  monetary  contingencies  that  must  be  met. 

Through  our  endeavors  the  Board  of  Supervisors  and  the 
Council  of  Los  Angeles  were  won  over  to  the  support  of  this  pro- 
ject; through  the  endeavors  of  our  ladies,  the  Women's  Clubs  of 
the  county  have  come  bravely  to  the  front,  and  from  a  financial 
standpoint  have  borne  the  brunt  of  the  first  year's  battle  and  so, 
working  harmoniously  and  -together  the  judge,  the  probation 
officers  and  the  committee,  we  have  placed  the  juvenile  court 
and  all  it  stands  for  in  Los  Angeles  county  firmly  on  a  basis  of 
usefulness  and  worth. 

Next  in  importance  to  the  fact  o\  the  establishment  of  the 
court  and  its  primary  workings  is  the  probation  system  inaugu- 
rated by  the  Juvenile  Court  Law,  for  the  benefit  of  minors  and 
by  other  laws  for  the  benefit  of  adults. 

The  law,  by  providing  for  probation  of  minors,  said  practi- 
cally, that  it  did  not  believe  in  institutional  training  for  children, 
except  as  a  last  resort.  That  children  should  be  given  every 
opportunity  to  be  trained  in  home  surroundings  and  under  home 
influences,  and  to  this  end  we  have  worked  since  the  court's 
inception,  and  as  a  result  there  is  a  large  decrease  in  the  number 
of  children  sent  to  State  or  other  institutions,  which  means  so 
much  toward  the  training  and  education  of  the  child,  and  a  tre- 
mendous saving  to  the  public  purse. 

Under  this  probation  system  the  child  is  again  and  again 
helped  back  to  the  steep  and  tortuous  road  of  righteousness  by 
the  admonition  and  advice  of  the  juvenile  court  through  its  judge 
or  probation  officers,  or  else  the  conditions  of  its  home  surround- 
ings are,  through  the  work  of  the  ladies  of  the  probation  board 


210  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

and  others,  so  changed  as  to  bring  about  better  conditions  for  the 
child's  welfare  and  education. 

And  how  much  have  we  done  in  the  way  of  probation  work 
in  this  county? 

Out  of  five  hundred  and  twenty  cases  heard  in  the  juvenile 
court,  four  hundred  cases  were  placed  on  probation,  out  of  which 
eighty-five  per  cent,  or  three  hundred  and  forty  responded  to  the 
treatment  and  have  worked  out  their  own  salvation  under  healthy, 
natural  conditions,  and  the  vindication  of  the  probation  system, 
if  it  needs  it,  lies  in  the  fact  that  something  over  eighty  young 
people  have  placed  themselves  under  so-called  voluntary  proba- 
tion with  our  probation  officers  and  some,  even  though  released 
from  probation  have  continued  of  their  own  choice  to  report  and 
receive  encouragement. 

And  as  to  the  matter  of  probation  for  adult  delinquents,  the 
success,  importance  and  practicability  of  the  system  has  been 
proven  without  a  doubt  in  other  places  and  countries,  and  in  Los 
Angeles,  out  of  twenty-six  Superior  Court  probations  established, 
Captain  Doclds  reports  only  one  backslider. 

You  can  imagine  what  a  joy  and  pleasure  it  is  to  me  to  see 
this  system  of  probation,  which  I  introduced  first  over  seven 
years  ago  as  judge  of  the  police  court  of  the  city  of  Pasadena, 
true,  without  legal  sanction,  but  with  wonderful  success,  grow  so 
that  the  young  people  of  the  whole  county  may  invoke  its  bene- 
fits. 

All  who  commit  crimes,  be  they  child  or  adult,  should  be 
treated,  not  by  applying  the  old  adage  "to  let  the  punishment  fit 
the  crime,"  but  rather  by  invoking  our  best  thought,  our  best 
medical  experience,  our  best  endeavor  and  thereby  to  cure  their 
disease  or  correct  them  in  the  error  of  their  way,  and  to  my  mind 
the  best  remedy  first  to  apply  is  probation,  which  may  cure  with- 
out leaving  the  scar  of  loss  of  self-respect,  without  which  one  is 
lost. 

As  Samuel  J.  Barrows,  President  of  the  International  Prison 
Congress  has  put  it,  "three  important  contributions  to  criminal 
law  and  criminal  procedure  have  had  their  origin  in  the  United 
States.  One  is  the  establishment  of  a  probation  system  appli- 
cable to  both  adults  and  minors;  the  second  is  the  organization  of 
juvenile  courts,  and  the  third  is  the  adoption  of  an  indeterminate 
sentence."  \Ye  in  California  now  have  the  two  former  and  may 
we  not  go  still  a  step  further  in  the  future,  and  look  for  the  third. 
The  probation  system  as  well  as  the  system  of  indeterminate 
sentence  does  away  with  many  of  the  inconsistencies  of  our  crim- 
inal law,  and  leaves  to  the  honest  and  capable  judgment  of  the 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  211 

judge  to  determine  whether  the  criminal  should  be  given  an  op- 
portunity to  retrieve  his  misbehavior  outside  the  prison,  or 
whether  he  should  be  forced  to  work  out  his  own  salvation 
through  an  indeterminate  sentence.  By  what  hocus  pocus  have 
we  arrived  at  the  laws  which  make  the  stealing  of  $49.00  punish- 
able by  imprisonment  for  six  months,  and  $50.00  by  imprison- 
ment for  ten  years.  Who,  I  say,  can  determine  and  tell  why  the 
difference,  or  as  Barrow's  says :  "A  judge  would  find  it  hard  to 
tell  why  he  sentenced  one  boy  five  years  for  stealing  a  dollar,  and 
another  for  one  year  for  stealing  $186.00,  or  another  judge  why 
he  sent  one  boy  to  prison  for  one  year  and  another,  a  first 
offender,  to  sixteen  years  for  the  same  offense." 

These  systems  solve  the  problem  and  either  through  proba- 
tion, under  the  supervision  of  the  court  or  its  properly  consti- 
tuted and  authorized  probation  officer  or  through  the  indeter- 
minate sentence  we  transfer  the  work  that  we  have  tried  to  do, 
and  in  which  we  have  miserably  failed,  to  the  shoulders  of  the 
criminal  himself,  to  work  out  his  own  salvation  and  should  he 
prove  himself  amenable  to  reformation  his  self-respect  and  cour- 
age are  saved  to  him  and  he  can  face  the  world  again,  but  if  not, 
he  becomes  the  ward  of  the  people  and  must  be  forced  either  by 
imprisonment  or  by  other  means  to  obey  the  country's  laws. 

When  the  committee  approached  me  to  address  you  to-night, 
they  put  a  ten-minute  limit  on  my  speech,  and  I  beg  to  assure 
you  that  to  handle  the  subject  of  probation  as  it  deserves,  would 
take  many  times  the  ten  minutes,  so  instead,  I  have  decided  to 
speak  generally  for  ten  minutes  only,  on  several  subjects,  includ- 
ing the  probation  system,  that  I  think  may  interest  you. 


The  Forces  Tending  to  Crimes 

By  the  Right  Rev.  Thomas  J.  Conaty 
Bishop  of  Los  Angeles 

Read  beftre  Fourth  California  State  Conference  of  Charities  and 
Corrections,  1906 

To  adequately  treat  the  topic  assigned  to  me  would  demand 
more  time  than  is  at  our  disposal.  The  most  that  can  be  done 
is  to  touch  upon  what  I  certainly  believe  to  be  some  of  the 
stronger  forces  tending  to  moral  delinquency.  No  one  can  view 
the  present  conditions  without  feeling  alarmed  at  the  increase 
of  vice  and  the  general  weakening  of  the  moral  tone  of  the  com- 
munity. Times,  indeed,  are  changing  when  we  are  apt  to  be  sur- 
prised at  sturdy  and  rugged  honesty  found  in  an  individual. 
Social  conditions  present  to  us  pictures  which  cannot  fail  to  make 
us  think  seriously  of  impending  dangers. 

The  problem  before  us  is  not  one  easy  of  solution.  This  con- 
ference is  not  going  to  solve  it.  Yet  a  fair  and  candid  discussion 
brings  us  nearer  to  the  solution.  \Ye  all  approach  it  with  one 
motive,  the  welfare  of  our  fellows  and  the  good  of  our  communi- 
ties. We  have  no  special  political  nor  religious  axes  to  grind,  but 
we  all  stand  ready  to  offer  the  honest  contribution  of  our  thought 
and  experience  to  the  general  understanding  of  what  all  acknowl- 
edge as  fundamental  to  our  success  as  a  nation.  All  agree  as  to 
the  facts — the  appreciation  of  causes  may  differ.  Our  social  views 
may  be  the  result  of  our  religious  views,  and  rightly  so,  but  we 
are  honest  in  our  expressions  and  anxious  to  help  in  the  cause 
of  better  citizenship. 

Men  devoid  of  conscience  or  dull  in  any  degree  to  the  moral 
sense  are  dangerous  in  our  communities,  not  only  because  of  the 
crimes  which  they  may  commit  against  social  and  individual 
rights  but  also  because  they  form  a  part  of  our  citizenship  and  by 
the  suffrage  are  forces  in  the  making  and  unmaking  of  our  social 
system. 

Juvenile  depravity  is  one  of  the  startling  results  which  in- 
vestigation chronicles.  The  real  danger  to  our  social  fabric  is 
largely  from  youth  going  astray.  The  boy,  too  familiar  with  the 
streets,  enamored  of  it,  is  apt  to  find  theft  more  profitable  than 
honest  labor  and  crime  easier  than  virtue.  The  young  girl,  in- 
troduced by  the  street  into  associations  that  lead  her  from  virtue, 
lured  to  ruin  by  her  more  fortunate  friend  and  led  in  consequence 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  213 


into  a  life  of  sin;  the  night  hawks  who  barter  in  human  souls, 
the  vagrants,  desperate  for  food  and  drink,  the  prowlers  in  our  by- 
ways, and  the  highway-man  in  aur  public  streets,  are  largely  the 
outcome  of  misdirected,  misled  and  wrongly  trained  youth.  The 
street  corners,  the  arcade  pictures,  the  shooting  galleries,  the  dice 
throwing  at  cigar  stores,  the  pool  rooms,  the  saloons,  the  gamb- 
ling dens,  the  race  tracks,  are  all  rounds  in  the  ladder  that  lead 
many  downward  to  depravity.  The  careless  and  improvident 
homes,  the  vicious  parents,  the  unwillingness  to  attend  school, 
the  dislike  for  work,  associations  with  those  familiar  with  crime, 
are  all  occasions  that  make  the  street,  rather  than  the  home,  the 
school  or  the  church,  the  teacher  of  youth.  The  street  leads  such 
youth  to  degradation  and  ruin. 

In  our  largest  cities  many  of  the  poorer  class  live  in  hovels, 
many  others  dwell  in  poorly  built  and  badly  ventilated  tenement 
houses,  the  owners  of  which  frequently  neglect  the  needs  for  the 
common  decencies  of  life  and  allow  their  property  to  develop 
finally  into  slum  conditions  where  the  crime  is  daily  and  nightly 
taught  and  out  of  which  comes  hordes  of  criminals  to  prey  upon 
the  people.  Young  boys,  through  the  carelessness  of  parents 
and  lack  of  supervision,  are  allowed  to  come  in  contact  with 
pick-pockets  and  thieves  whose  stories  of  adventure  give  to  the 
boy-mind  the  idea  of  heroism  and  greatness.  Contact  with  such 
lower  elements  causes  youth  to  lose  respect  for  law  and  order,  to 
despise  and  defy  the  policeman,  to  look  upon  all  authority  with 
contempt  and  in  the  spirit  of  adventure  to  imitate  the  hero  to 
whom  they  listened  or  whose  wild  deeds  were  the  center  of  the 
exciting  story  read  in  the  highly  colored  novel  or  newspaper. 

The  statement  made  in  a  Brooklyn  report  in  1878  expresses 
this  thought:  "There  seems  to  be  a  spirit  of  adventure  among 
boys  of  tender  years  that  will  not  hesitate  at  incendiarism  and 
will  at  times  permit  them  to  point  a  loaded  revolver  for  some  fan- 
cied offense.  Their  ideas  are  communistic  to  an  extreme  degree 
and  they  will  assuredly  pull  down  our  houses  about  our  ears  if 
not  repressed  seasonably  and  with  determination.  These  boys  are 
not  acquainted  with  fear,  they  have  sometime  to  learn  the  sanc- 
tity of  an  oath  and  they  look  on  the  laws  of  society  as  enacted 
for  their  oppression." 

Who  is  to  blame  or  what  is  to  blame?  Ts  our  civilization  a 
failure  or  are  our  conditions  at  fault?  One  thing  is  certain,  that 
there  seems  to  be  a  growing  disregard  on  the  part  of  parents 
toward  their  children  and  an  ever  increasing  lack  of  supervision. 
Children  do  as  they  please,  go  where  they  please,  go  with  whom 
they  please.  The  anxiety  of  the  elder  Tobias  as  to  the  compan- 


214  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

ionship  of  his  son  seems  not  to  affect  many  modern-clay  parents. 
We  need  only  stand  near  the  doorways  of  one  of  the  cheapest 
and  meanest  showplaces  to  see  hordes  of  children  crowding  their 
way  to  witness  what  in  many  cases  is  demoralizing  and  debasing 
to  their  young  minds. 

Poverty  frequently  has  much  to  do  with  the  unfortunate 
conditions  in  which  children  are  reared.  Idleness  also  enters 
into  the  problem  and  evil  associations  has  the  largest  responsibil- 
ity for  the  results. 

Home,  to  many  children,  has  become  an  eating  and  lodging 
house.  Parents,  growing  careless,  neglect  to  properly  reprimand 
and  omit  altogether  to  punish.  No  matter  how  much  you  may 
believe  in  kindness  as  the  great  moving  principle  in  correction, 
there  are  many  of  us  old  fogy  enough  to  still  believe  that  the 
birch  rod  is  wholesome,  and  the  fear  of  God  is  often  associated 
with  the  fear  of  the  rod.  The  American  boy,  and  often  the  Amer- 
ican girl,  have  grown  up  to  feel  independent  of  parents  and  the 
courts  often  support  them  in  it  by  not  forcing  parents  to  look 
after  their  children,  to  clothe  and  school  them,  instead  of  forcing 
the  State  to  assume  such  duties  in  its  public  institutions. 

The  extraordinary  growth  of  our  cities  at  the  expense  of  our 
rural  communities  may  be  considered  as  one  of  the  elements 
entering  into  the  increase  of  crime  among  juveniles.  The  farm 
has  lost  its  charm,  the  village  has  become  wearisome  and  nothing 
but  the  noise  and  bustle  of  the  city  and  the  excitement  of  the  city 
streets  seem  to  satisfy  youth.  The  constant  whirl  and  excite- 
ment, the  jingle  of  ready  money  in  the  pocket,  the  increasing 
demand  for  fun  and  pleasure,  are  the  gateways  that  open  into  the 
homes  of  danger.  Increased  demands  are  upon  the  people  and 
frequently  these  demands  are  supplied  at  the  expense  of  the 
strict  honesty  to  pay  what  has  been  contracted  for.  Extrava- 
gance begets  dishonesty.  Employment  for  youth  is  not  easily 
obtained,  or  if  obtained,  is  frequently  surrounded  by  many  danger- 
ous associations.  Both  boy  and  girl  away  from  the  close  touch 
of  home  influence  are  frequently  placed  in  the  presence  of  sugges- 
tion and  temptation,  the  inevitable  condition  of  certain  business 
phases  with  which  the  village  and  the  home  were  not  familiar. 
The  mere  pittance  of  wage  offered  to  such  wage  earners  imposes 
a  condition  which  in  a  certain  way  obliges  them  to  seek  for  other 
means  of  money  earning  in  order  to  be  able  to  live  and  as  a  result 
we  frequently  have  not  only  dishonesty  but  immorality. 

The  boy  or  girl  earning  wages  is  apt  to  become  independent 
of  parents  and  demand  liberties  which  are  occasions  for  evil 
development.  The  fact  that  they  are  employed,  often  for  a  mere 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  215 

nominal  sum,  not  only  interferes  with  legitimate  labor  but  also 
stunts  the  growth  and  dwarfs  the  moral  sensibilities  of  the  youth. 
It  also  places  him  at  times  in  contact  with  associations  and  temp- 
tations which  he  should  never  know.  One  of  our  earnest  endeav- 
ors should  be  in  the  direction  of  saving  the  child  from  labor  and 
giving  him  the  opportunity  of  school  and  home  which  will  tend 
to  develop  the  manhood  in  him,  that  manhood  which  will  stand 
him  in  stead  for  his  future  development. 

There  is  a  growing  tendency  in  city  life  to  rise  above  the 
commonness  of  trades.  The  avocation  of  the  father  has  little 
inducement  for  the  son  and  the  foolishness  often  of  the  parents 
forces  the  child  out  of  what  would  seem  to  be  his  natural  bent, 
into  a  sphere  of  life  for  which  his  talents  do  not  fit  him,  and  as 
a  result  we  have  misplaced  lives,  unsuccessful  men  and  women 
who  follow  the  line  of  least  resistance,  drift  into  idleness  and  from 
idleness  to  general  crime,  the  step  is  a  very  short  one.  On  the 
other  hand,  success  begets  extravagance ;  pleasures,  at'  first  inno- 
cent, soon  give  way  to  those  of  doubtful  character,  and  finally 
lead  to  dissipation  and  ruin.  Habits  of  vice  contracted  demand 
satisfaction,  and  if  the  means  be  not  at  hand  to  pay  for  them, 
fraud,  theft,  and  forgery  supply  them. 

Pauperism  is  of  recent  growth  in  this  country  but  at  present 
every  community  has  its  vagrants.  Every  poorhouse  is  crowded 
and  jails  and  prisons  are  swarming  with  their  inmates.  The 
Prison  Association  of  New  York  in  one  of  its  annual  reports  some 
few  years  ago,  said :  "It  is  a  fact  that  the  numbers,  and  fear- 
lessness, and  the  defiant  organization  of  criminals  against  prop- 
erty have  been  increasing  these  several  years  past  in  the  city  of 
New  York."  What  is  appalling  is  that  the  growth  of  a  city  seems 
to  bring  with  it  the  ever  increasing  danger  to  property  and  human 
life  on  the  part  of  organized  ruffianism. 

The  conscience  of  a  community  is  sometimes  aroused  to  a 
sense  of  the  danger  but  after  some  spasmodic  effort  the  people 
lapse  into  their  accustomed  quiet  until  the  neighborhood  is  again 
stirred  by  a  series  of  crimes,  the  evident  outcome  of  gangs  of 
organized  criminals. 

In  discussing  the  forces  that  tend  toward  the  moral  delin- 
quency one  easily  places  the  finger  upon  pauperism,  intemperance, 
slum  conditions,  incompetent  and  vicious  parents,  miserable 
homes,  degraded  and  underpaid  labor.  All  these  are  active 
agencies  in  the  development  of  crime.  There  is  one  great  over- 
shadowing cause  which  would  seem  to  be  also  in  some  respects 
an  effect  and  which  I  would  wish  to  emphasize,  and  that  is  the 
absence  of  moral  training.  Of  course  where  the  home  is  not  built 


216  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

on  moral  lines,  it  is  difficult  to  expect  it  to  be  the  nursery  of  moral 
ideas.  Where  vice  prevails  and  associations  are  nearly  all  evil, 
it  is  impossible  to  expect  manhood  development  that  leads  to 
good  lives.  Apart  from  these  and  beyond  them  all  there  is  an 
absence  of  moral  training  in  so  many  homes  not  handicapped  by 
such  wretched  conditions.  To  my  mind  one  of  the  greatest 
sources  of  crime  is  the  unchristian,  unreligious  character  of 
many  homes  and  of  much  of  our  education.  Home,  after  all,  is 
the  nursery  of  life;  it  is  the  teaching  place  of  childhood,  the 
training  school  of  the  fundamental  principles  that  stand  for  char- 
acter. In  the  home  is  to  be  found  the  hope  or  despair  of  the 
State.  Home,  to  many  children,  has  lost  its  meaning.  The 
demon  of  divorce  enters  the  household,  robs  the  fireside  of  its 
loves,  weakens  or  destroys  responsibility  to  childhood  and  fre- 
quently breaks  the  tie  that  binds  child  to  parent.  Divorce 
destroys  so  far  as  it  can  the  sense  of  responsibility  for  married 
life,  desecrates  the  sacredness  of  the  marriage  vow,  breeds  con- 
tempt for  Divine  law  and  in  so  many  cases  sends  children  adrift 
to  work  out  their  life  problem  alone.  Divorce  robs  marriage  of 
its  sanctity,  makes  it  a  huge  burlesque,  destroys  responsibility  for 
home  life  and  declares  that  passion,  pleasure  and  whim  are  the 
determining  forces  of  married  fidelity,  legalizes  free  love,  tends  to 
race  suicide,  and  practically  destroys  so  many  homes.  Intemper- 
ance is  another  source  of  home  destruction  and  the  bountiful 
breeding  cause  of  much  crime.  It  saps  human  energy  and  brings 
into  human  lives  blasphemy  and  all  forms  of  pauperism,  the  stalk- 
ing demon  of  debauchery  which  pollutes  and  destroys,  and  makes 
vicious  parents  who  are  frequently  the  purveyors  of  the  vilest 
crimes.  The  home  broken  by  divorce,  paralyzed  by  intemper- 
ance and  vice,  is  a  fruitful  source  of  our  crimes.  The  conse- 
quences from  such  homes  are  apparent  to  all  and  need  not  to  be 
dwelt  upon. 

This  reaction  of  home  upon  church  forces,  resulting  in  so 
large  a  body  of  people  growing  up  without  that  moral  instruction 
which  home  and  church  should  give,  forces  one  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  school  must  enter  into  the  work  in  order  to  save  the 
home  and  aid  the  church. 

Where  is  a  child  to  receive  his  moral  training  when  in  so 
many  cases,  his  home  and  parents  have  lost  their  sense  of 
responsibility  to  the  moral  law.  Even  where  divorce  nor  intem- 
perance enter  it  is  unfortunate  but  it  is  nevertheless  true  that  the 
religious  life  offers  little  inducement  to  multitudes  of  our  people. 
The  unchurched  masses  fill  our  cities  and  are  found  often  in  our 
demure  and  staid  villages.  The  Atlantic  Monthly  for  October, 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  217 


1878,  says:  "The  influence  of  churches  and  of  religion  upon  the 
morals  and  conduct  of  men  has  greatly  declined  and  is  still 
declining.  There  is  yet  a  large  amount  of  moral  force  and 
healthful  life  in  the  churches.  Religion  is  not  extinct.  But 
the  really  significant  fact  here  is  that  it  is  constantly  losing 
ground.  The  empire  of  religion  over  human  conduct,  its  power 
as  a  conservative  moral  and  social  force,  is  so  far  lost  that  some 
things  which  are  indispensable  to  the  existence  of  society  can  no 
longer  be  supplied  from  this  source  without  a  great  increase  in 
vitality  in  religion  itself.  The  morality  based  upon  the  religion 
properly  professed  has,  to  a  fatal  extent,  broken  down." 

But  unfortunately  the  tendency  of  public  education,  espe- 
cially State  aided  instruction,  has  been  to  divorce  religious  in- 
struction from  school  training.  You  cannot  eliminate  or  mini- 
mize God  in  the  instruction  of  children  without  realizing  the  con- 
sequences in  a  youth  bereft  of  moral  sense  and  without  the 
stamina  necessary  for  the  days  of  trial  and  temptation.  The 
home  and  the  church  unite  in  doing  their  duty  to  those  under 
their  influence,  and  thank  God  they  are  doing  the  work  of  salva- 
tion but  for  the  masses  the  great  teacher,  and  often  the  only 
teacher,  is  the  school,  and  if  there  be  no  religious  atmosphere 
there,  then  look  out  for  the  waves  that  will  threaten  the  social 
fabric.  If  men  would  divest  themselves  of  religious  prejudices 
and  approach  this  subject  from  the  common  standpoint  of  social 
needs,  much  might  be  done  toward  a  solution  which  would  benefit 
all  without  interfering  with  the  religious  rights  of  any.  Public 
education  has,  as  a  result,  general  education,  but  no  community, 
no  state  or  nation  can  allow  itself  to  enter  into  the  field  as  an 
educator  of  the  whole  people  without  studying  the  needs  of  the 
people  and  the  consequences  of  its  methods. 

The  history  of  the  world,  and,  indeed,  our  own  experiences 
show  us  that  you  cannot  have  a  people  moral  without  a  moral 
code  built  upon  God's  law,  accepted  and  followed,  and  religion 
alone  can  teach  and  enforce.  Experience  shows  that  for  the 
masses  of  the  people  to  a  great  extent  the  home  has  become 
derelict  in  its  duty  and  cannot  be  relied  upon,  for  the  parents 
have  cast  the  burden  upon  church  and  school.  The  school  is  but 
the  outgrowth  of  community  desires  to  aid  the  home  and  the 
school  is  compulsory  cither  by  law  or  by  the  needs  of  life,  while 
the  church  is  left  to  man's  free  choice.  The  school  (.Iocs  not 
seem  to  lead  men  to  that  high  moral  plane  which  home  ami 
church  unite  in  reaching,  hence  we  come  back,  by  necessity,  to 
the  school  as  the  trustee  selected  by  or  for  the  parent,  and  we  ask 
what  is  the  cause,  or  rather  the  defect,  and  some  find  it  in  the 


219  Report  and  Manual  {or  Probation  Officers 

absence  of  all  positive  religion.  We  should  study  to  make  it 
possible  that  under  her  aegis,  in  some  way  in  keeping  with  the 
religious  rights  of  all,  religon  may  enter  into  child  life. 

It  is  a  plain  and  simple  problem.  We  may  try  to  deceive 
ourselves  and  look  at  it  another  way,  but  like  Banquo's  ghost, 
it  will  not  down.  We  need  morality  and  we  need  the  morality 
that  comes  from  positive  definite  law.  Make  our  children  know 
the  moral  law,  cast  their  young  lives  under  religious  influences, 
and  though  we  may  not  be  able  to  save  them  all,  we  can  save 
more  than  to-day. 

The  social  conditions  confronting  us  make  us  feel  that  the 
moral  sense  is  being  blunted  and  that  our  great  purpose  in  all 
reform  is  to  bring  the  people  to  a  sense  of  their  moral  obligation. 
State  institutions,  charitable  organizations,  should  strive  and 
develop  lives  in  those  under  their  care  along  the  lines  of  what- 
ever religious  ideas  they  may  have  received.  The  purpose 
should  be  to  find  the  religious  basis  of  their  lives  and  build  upon 
that  foundation.  Proselytism,  the  destruction  of  whatever  relig- 
ious principles  may  have  been  implanted  by  home  traditions  or 
early  training  can  never  work  out  successfully  the  problem  of 
moral  reformation.  The  sanctity  of  whatever  consciences  such 
children  have  should  not  be  violated  by  the  zealot  who  strives, 
especially  in  a  State  institution,  to  make  the  child  despise  the 
religion  of  his  parent  and  to  turn  his  religious  inclinations  in  the 
channel  which  seems  best  for  the  proselytizer.  Build  up  rather 
than  pull  down  and  feel  confident  that  the  best  results  can  be 
obtained  along  the  line  of  whatever  religious  instincts  the  child 
may  have  had  and  the  interpretation  of  the  parent's  will  in  the 
matter  should  determine  the  form  of  religious  instruction. 

We  may  bitterly  lament  the  conditions  of  home  life  and 
strive  to  pass  legislation  that  will  change  them.  It  is  well  to 
feel  that  the  burden  of  crime  is  not  wholly  upon  such  causes  but 
that  the  general  social  conditions  have  blame  attached  to  them. 
Discuss  it  as  we  may,  every  sincere  observer  must  acknowledge 
that  there  is  a  general  blunting  of  the  moral  sense  not  merely  in 
the  criminals  but  in  society  generally.  Our  commercial  and 
industrial  conditions  have  a  tendency  to  blind  us  to  moral  obliga- 
tions. The  fault  is  with  the  rich  as  well  as  with  the  poor,  with 
men  of  high  standing  as  well  as  with  those  of  low  degree. 
Money  is  the  god  of  the  hour  and  law  is  frequently  made  and  is 
frequently  violated  to  subserve  selfish  interests.  Crime  in  the 
poor  is  so  often  harshly  punished,  while  still  more  serious  crime 
in  the  higher  circles  of  life  fails  to  receive  deserving  punish- 
ment. Much  of  the  poverty  of  to-day  is  due  to  the  grasping  spirit 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  219 

of  individuals  more  fortunate  than  the  poor  whom  they  employ 
or  whom  they  house;  the  unwillingness  or  inability  of  muni- 
cipalities to  enforce  the  ordinary  statute  law,  allowing  the  saloon 
to  run  Sundays  as  well  all  the  night  long,  and  a  red  light  dis- 
trict to  flaunt  its  vileness  in  the  face  of  the  passer-by.  These  are 
evidences  of  moral  stupor  or  of  lack  of  moral  sense.  The  vicious 
are  allowed  to  violate  the  law  and  those  in  authority  seem  obliged 
to  condone  its  violation  for  fear  of  the  elements  that  control  their 
business  or  their  politics. 

Let  us  blame  all  causes  and  not  forget  that  those  who  are 
called  to  rule  should  be  the  first  to  obey  the  law  ;  that  wealth  has 
its  duties  to  the  community  as  well  as  its  exactions  of  tribute  from 
the  people. 

Pleasure,  gratification  of  appetite,  enjoyment,  appear  to  have 
become  the  aims  and  purposes  of  life;  the  commercial  instinct 
has  crowded  out,  in  so  many  instances,  the  religious  one.  Tn  the 
mad  rush  for  power,  in  the  brutal  struggle  for  life,  moral  prin- 
ciple cuts  a  very  sorry  figure.  It  has  so  little  commercial  value 
that  it  is  the  last  element  introduced.  Men  profess  morality,  talk 
about  its  need,  deprecate  its  absence,  but  they  go  on  in  the  daily 
duty  of  grinding,  cheating,  killing  if  need  be,  getting,  anyway, 
what  their  heart  is  set  upon,  no  matter  the  blood,  tears  and 
injustices.  Success  is  to  come  by  moral  means  if  possible,  but 
success,  anyway.  The  commandments  of  God  are  not  essential 
to  the  carrying  out  of  business  schemes.  It  is  well  for  us  never  to 
allow  it  to  be  forgotten  that  conscience  is  the  soul  of  character 
and  that  religion  is  the  one  force  which  can  influence  instruction 
and  guide  conscience.  Religion  is  the  sanction  to  all  law  and  the 
one  power  that  can  maintain  authority.  It  alone  can  teach  and 
enforce  the  moral  and  make  it  the  norm  of  human  life.  There 
can  be  no  morality  worthy  the  name  unless  it  come  from  religion 
and  have  its  source  in  the  eternal  law  of  God.  Any  other  moral- 
ity is  of  too  thin  a  veneer  to  stand  the  strain  of  human  passion. 
Education,  the  mere  knowledge  of  books,  the  knowledge  even  of 
arts  and  sciences,  is  not  the  only  thing  that  is  needed  for  the 
development  of  character.  Its  soul,  the  soul  of  all  education,  is  in 
the  religious  sense. 

Our  young  criminals  are  expert  in  many  branches  of  knowl- 
edge, capable  of  forging  your  signature  and  mine,  ingenious 
beyond  the  power  of  trained  detectives  to  circumvent,  able  to 
read  and  write  and  cipher,  but  with  no  moral  sense.  They  are 
educated  to  believe  that  right  is  to  make  a  living  without  work- 
ing, and  wrong  is  to  be  caught  doing  it.  They  have  no  respect 
for  the  property  of  others,  no  veneration  for  old  age,  no  rcver- 


220  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

ence  for  God  and  sacred  thing's,  no  sense  of  duty  or  responsibility, 
a  love  for  the  vile  and  a  contempt  for  the  pure  and  the  true,  no 
control  of  self,  no  curbing-  of  the  desires,  and  the  appetite,  no 
knowledge  of  honor,  except  that  it  leads  them  to  save  others  from 
the  law.  \Yhat  has  education  done  for  them?  Made  them  ex- 
pert criminals..  The  religious  element  has  never  entered  or  has 
not  sufficiently  entered  to  curb  the  savage,  to  control  the  animal, 
to  guide  the  reason  in  them.  For  them  religion  means  nothing 
but  weakness  and  silliness,  or  as  they  think  has  nothing  for  them. 
Their  homes  are  frequently  irreligious,  or  at  best,  tin-religious, 
often  bad.  Intemperance,  immorality,  carelessness,  is  the  atmos- 
phere in  which  their  young  lives  grew.  Such  a  home  can  no 
more  send  forth  good  men  and  women  than  a  bad  tree  good  fruit. 
Of  course,  God's  grace  can  come  to  the  children  of  such  homes, 
touch  the  hearts  and  by  the  influence  of  the  church,  school  and 
companionship,  save  them  from  ruin,  but  it  is  the  very  rare  excep- 
tion and  we  cannot  build  upon  it  a  citizenship  on  which  to  de- 
pend. A  bad  child  may  come  forth  from  a  good  home  and  saintly 
parents  have  their  name  disgraced  by  the  misdeeds  of  rascally 
children,  but  again  that  is  the  very  rare  exception.  A  Judas 
among  the  twelve  betrayed  his  Master  and  one  thief  of  the  two 
on  Calvary  was  promised  Paradise  by  the  Redeemer;  the  environ- 
ment saved  the  one  but  not  the  other. 

While  condemning  the  evil  deed  and  punishing  the  evil  doer, 
let  us  not  fail  in  our  study  of  the  facts  to  strive  and  find  the 
source  of  the  evil.  Useless  for  us  merely  to  inveigh  against  the 
saloons,  the  gambling  dens,  the  red  light  horror.  Put  the  strong 
hand  of  the  law  on  those  who  violate  it.  See  that  the  law  be 
enforced.  Allow  no  bargains  with  evil.  Enforce  the  statute  law 
and  let  the  offender  understand  that  neither  wealth  nor  political 
influence  will  keep  him  from  conviction  and  punishment.  Thus 
teach  the  wholesome  fear  for  the  law  by  enforcing  it.  Neglect 
to  do  so  breeds  contempt  for  all  law. 

My  strong  plea  is  for  the  child.  The  advanced  criminal 
needs  the  prison  and  prison  punishment.  The  wholesome  fear  of 
the  law  must  be  visited  upon  all  who  violate  it.  P>ut  in  searching 
for  the  cause  of  increasing  crime,  let  us  aim  to  cast  about  the 
child  the  influence  that  will  make  him  moral,  determine  his  char- 
acter for  goodness  and  develop  him  into  a  God-fearing  and  law- 
abiding  citizen,  worthy  of  companionship  and  meriting  our  confi- 
dence, and  thus  contributing  toward  the  glory  of  our  citizenship. 
The  home,  thus  renewed  in  a  better  childhood,  whose  moral 
education  will  lead  him  to  church  and  thus  tend  to  strengthen  the 
social  fabric  of  which  he  is  destined  to  become  a  member. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  221 

DISCUSSION. 

Chairman  W.  A.  Gates :  Bishop  Conaty  and  myself  do  not 
belong  to  the  same  church  organization,  but  I  believe  that  we 
do  worship  the  same  God,  and  we  are  controlled  and  governed  by 
the  same  divine  law,  and  I  think  when  the  people  of  the  differ- 
ent churches  commence  to  realize  that  they  are  under  the  same 
divine  power,  and  will  discuss  and  consider  these  questions  in  that 
light,  that  we  will  arrive  at  a  solution. 


Mr.  A.  J.  Pillsbury :  Just  one  thought  I  want  this  audience 
to  carry  home  with  them.  Nine  years  ago  eighty-five  thousand 
boys  started  to  school  in  California,  and  last  June  forty-five  hun- 
dred of  them  graduated  from  the  common  school.  The  rest  of 
them  dropped  out.  If  we  are  going  to  do  a  great  work  for  the 
moralization  of  the  race  through  the  school,  you  have  got  to 
have  your  children  in  school.  I  have  followed  this  matter  from 
this  ocean  to  the  other  ocean,  and  have  visited  as  many  reforma- 
tories as  possible,  and  I  found  this  to  be  the  fact,  that  the  first 
offense  committed  by  the  delinquent  child  is  truancy.  The  first 
thing  the  child  does  is  to  drop  out  of  school,  and  in  all  these 
institutions  four-fifths  of  the  inmates  did  not  get  beyond  the 
third  grade,  and  many  of  them  barely  learned  to  read.  Now,  as 
to  the  problem  of  criminals,  it  may  be  that  the  school  did  not 
save  them.  As  to  the  problem  of  juvenile  delinquents,  the  school 
did  not  have  a  chance  to  save  them,  because  they  were  not  in 
school,  and  the  problem  up  to  California  is  to  enforce  its  com- 
pulsory education  law,  and  enforce  upon  the  parents  the  obliga- 
tion of  seeing  that  their  children  are  in  school. 


Adult  Probation 


REPORT  OF  NEW  YORK  STATE  PROBATION 
COMMISSION,  1910. 

The  report  lays  special  stress  on  the  importance  in  probation 
work  of  intelligent  methods  and  thoroughness.  Success  in  the 
use  of  the  system  is  declared  to  depend  chiefly  on  these  requisites : 

1.  That  courts  select  competent  and  faithful  probation  offi- 
cers. 

2.  That  courts  select  for  probationary  treatment  suitable 
defendants. 

3.  That  courts  keep  persons  on  probation  sufficiently  long. 

4.  That  probation  officers  keep  closely  informed  regarding 
the  conduct  of  those  under  their  care. 

5.  That  probation  officers  use  effective  means  to  improve 
the  habits  of  those  under  their  care. 

6.  That  persons  on  probation  proving  unfit  for  such  treat- 
ment be  returned  to  court  for  other  treatment. 

Attention  is  called  to  some  of  the  dangers  of  careless  and  in- 
effective probation  work,  which,  in  the  language  of  the  report, 
besides  failing  to  reform  offenders,  may  foster  the  belief  that 
crime  can  be  committed  with  impunity,  and  may  weaken  public 
respect  for  criminal  courts. 

\Yomen  probation  officers  are  said  to  be  preferable  to  men 
officers  in  exercising  supervision  over  women  and  girls  on  proba- 
tion. There  are  at  present  24  women  probation  officers  in  the 
State  salaried  from  public  funds. 


Adult  Probation 

An  Act  to  amend  Section  Twelve  Hundred  and  Three  of  the 
Penal  Code  of  the  State  of  California  relating  to  the  proba- 
tion of  persons  arrested  for  crime  after  a  plea  or  verdict 
of  guilty  and  the  suspending  of  the  imposition  or  execution 
of  sentence  during  the  term  of  probation  and  the  disposition 
of  such  accusation  after  full  compliance  with  the  terms  of 
probation.  Approved  April  6,  1911. 


THE  PEOPLE  OF  THE  STATE  OF  CALIFORNIA,  REP- 
RESENTED IN  SENATE  AND  ASSEMBLY,  DO  EX- 
ACT AS  FOLLOWS: 

Section  1.  Section  1203  of  the  Penal  Code  of  the  State  of 
California  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

1203.  After  plea  or  verdict  of  guilty,  where  discretion  is 
conferred  upon  the  court  as  to  the  extent  of  the  punishment,  the 
court,  upon  oral  suggestions  of  either  party,  or  of  its  own  mo- 
tion, that  there  arc  circumstances  which  may  properly  be  taken 
into  view,  either  in  aggravation1  or  mitigation  of  the  punish- 
ment, may  in  its  discretion  refer  the  same  to  the  probation 
ofHcer,  directing  said  probation  officer  to  investigate,  and  to  re- 
port, recommending  either  for  or  against  release  upon  proba- 
tion, at  a  specified  time,  and  the  court  shall  hear  the  same  sum- 
marily at  such  specified  times,  and  upon  such  notice  to  the  ad- 
verse party  as  it  may  direct.  At  such  specified  time,  if  it  shall 
appear  from  the  report  furnished  by  the  probation  officer,  or 
otherwise,  and  from  the  circumstances,  of  any  person  over  the 
age  of  eighteen  (18)  years,  so  having  pleaded  guilty  or  having 
been  convicted  of  crime,  that  there  are  circumstances  in  miti- 
gation of  the  punishment,  or  that  the  ends  of  justice  shall  be 
subserved  thereby,  the  court  shall  have  power,  in  its  discretion, 
to  place  the  defendant  upon  probation  in  the  manner  following: 

1.  The  court,  judge  or  justice  thereof,  may  suspend  the 
imposing,  or  the  execution  of  sentence,  and  may  direct  that  such 
suspension  may  continue  for  such  period  time,  not  exceeding 
the  maximum  possible  term  of  such  sentence,  and  upon  such 
terms  and  conditions  as  it  shall  determine,  which  term--  and  con- 
ditions may  include,  in  the  discretion  of  the  court,  the  requirement 
of  bonds  for  the  appearance  of  the  person  released  upun  probation 


226  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


before  the  court,  at  any  time  that  the  court  may  require  such  ap- 
pearance in  the  investigation  of  any  alleged  violation  of  said  terms 
and  conditions  of  probation,  and  such  bonds  may  be  at  any  time 
by  the  court  exonerated  without  affecting  any  of  the  other  terms 
or  conditions  of  such  probation :  And  in  case  of  such  suspension 
of  imposition  or  execution  of  sentence,  the  court  shall  place  such 
person  on  probation  and  under  the  charge  and  supervision  of 
the  probation  officer  of  said  court,  during  such  suspension,  or  un- 
der the  charge  and  supervision  of  the  probation  officer  of  the 
county  in  which  such  probationer  is  by  the  court  permitted  to 
reside. 

2.  If  the  judgment  is  to  pay  a  fine,  and  that  the  defendant 
be  imprisoned  until  it  be  paid,  the  court,  judge,  or  justice,  upon 
imposing  sentence,   may   direct   that   the   execution   of   the   sen- 
tence of  imprisonment  be  suspended  for  such  period  of  time,  not 
exceeding  the  maximum  possible  term  of  such  sentence,  and  on 
such  terms  as  it  shall  determine,  and  shall  place  the  defendant 
on  probation,  under  the  charge  and  supervision  of  the  probation 
officer  during  such  suspension,  to  the  end  that  he  may  be  given 
the  opportunity  to  pay  the  fine ;  provided,  however,  that  upon 
the  payment  of  the  fine  being  made,  judgment  shall  be  satisfied 
and  the  probation  cease. 

3.  At  any  time  during  the  probationary  term  of  the  person 
released  on  probation,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  this 
section,   any   probation   officer   may,   without   warrant,   or   other 
process,  at  any  time  until  the  final  disposition  of  the  case,  re- 
arrest  any  person  so  placed  in  his  care  and  bring  him  before  the 
court,  or  the  court  may,   in   its  discretion,   issue  a  warrant  for 
the  rearrest  of  any  such  person  and  may  thereupon  revoke  and 
terminate  such  probation,  if  the  interest  of  justice  so  requires, 
and  if  the  court,  in   its  judgment,  shall   have  reason  to  believe 
from  the  report  of  the  probation  officer,  or  otherwise,  that  the 
person  so  placed  upon  probation   is  violating  the  conditions  of 
his  probation,  or  engaging  in  criminal  practices,  or  has  become 
abandoned  to  improper  associates,  or  a  vicious  life.     Upon  such 
revocation  and  termination,  the  court  may,  if  the  sentence  has 
been  suspended,  pronounce  judgment  after  the  said  suspension 
of  the  sentence  for  any  time  within  the  longest  period  for  which 
the  defendant  might   have  been  sentenced,  but   if  the  judgment 
has   been   pronounced   and   the   execution   thereof  has  been   sus- 
pended, the  court  may  revoke  such  suspension,  whereupon  the 
judgment  shall  be  in  full  force  and  effect  and  the  person  shall  be 
delivered  over  to  the  proper  officer  to  serve  his  sentence. 

4.  The  court  shall  have  power  at  any  time  during  the  term 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  227 

of  probation  to  revoke  or  modify  its  order  of  suspension,  of  im- 
position or  execution  of  sentence.  It  may,  at  any  time,  when  the 
ends  of  justice  will  be  subserved  thereby,  and  when  the  good  con- 
duct and  reform  of  the  person  so  held  on  probation  shall  warrant 
it,  terminate  the  period  of  probation  and  discharge  the  person 
so  held,  and  in  all  cases,  if  the  court  has  not  seen  fit  to  revoke 
the  order  of  probation  and  impose  sentence  or  pronounce  judg- 
ment, the  defendant  shall,  at  the  end  of  the  term  of  probation,  be 
by  the  court  discharged. 

5.  Every  defendant,  who  has  fulfilled  the  conditions  of  his 
probation  for  the  entire  period  thereof,  or  who  shall  have  been 
discharged  from  probation  prior  to  the  termination  of  the  period 
thereof,  shall  at  any  time  prior  to  the  expiration  of  the  maximum 
period  of  punishment  for  the  offense  of  which  he  has  been  con- 
victed, dating  from  said  discharge  from  probation  or  said  termi- 
nation of  said  period  of  probation,  be  permitted  by  the  court  to 
withdraw  his  plea  of  guilty  and  enter  a  plea  of  not  guilty;  or, 
if  he  has  been  convicted  after  a  plea  of  not  guilty,  the  court  shall 
set  aside  the  verdict  of  guilty;  and  in  either  case  the  court  shall 
thereupon   dismiss   the   accusation   or   information   against   such 
defendant,   who   shall   thereafter  be   released   from   all   penalties 
and  disabilities  resulting  from  the  offense  or  crime  of  which  he 
has  been  convicted. 

6.  The  same  probation  officers  and  assistant  probation  of- 
ficers and  deputy  probation  officers  shall  serve  under  this  act  as 
are  appointed  under  the  act  known  as  the  Juvenile  Court   Law, 
and  entitled  "An  act  concerning  dependent  and  delinquent  minor 
children,  providing  for  their  care,  custody,  and  maintenance  until 
twenty-one  years  of  age;  providing  for  their  commitment  to  the 
\Yhittier  State  School  and  the  Preston  State  School  of  Industry, 
and  the  manner  of  such  commitment  and  release  therefrom,  estab- 
lishing a  probation  committee  and  probation  officers  to  deal  with 
such  ^children,  and  fixing  the  salaries  of  probation  officers:  pro- 
viding for  detention  homes  for  said  children;  providing  for  the 
punishment  of  persons   responsible   for,   or   contributing  to.   the 
dependency  or  delinquency  of  children;  and   giving  to  the   Su- 
perior Court  jurisdiction  of  such  offenses,  and  repealing  incon- 
sistent acts,"  approved  March  8,  1909.  or  under  any  laws  amend- 
ing or  superseding  the  same. 

7.  Such  probation  officers  shall  serve  under  this  act   when- 
ever required  to  do  so  by  any  court  having  original  jurisdiction 
of  criminal  actions  in  this  state. 

8.  At  the  time  of  the  plea  or  verdict  of  guilty  of  any  crime 
of  any  person  over  eighteen  years  of  age,  the  probation  officer 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

of  the  county  of  the  jurisdiction  of  said  crime  shall,  when  so 
directed  by  the  court,  inquire  into  the  antecedents,  character, 
history,  family  environment,  and  offense  of  such  person,  and  must 
report  the  same  to  the  court,  and  file  his  report  in  writing  in  the 
records  of  said  court.  II  is  report  shall  contain  his  recommenda- 
tion for  or  against  the  release  of  such  person  on  probation.  If 
any  such  person  shall  be  released  on  probation  and  committed 
to  the  care  of  the  probation  officer,  such  officer  shall  keep  a  com- 
plete and  accurate  record  in  suitable  books  or  other  form  in 
writing,  of  the  history  of  the  case  in  court,  and  of  the  name  of 
the  probation  officer,  and  his  acts  in  connection  with  said  case; 
also  the  age,  sex,  nativity,  residence,  education,  habits  of  tem- 
perance, whether  married  or  single,  and  the  conduct,  employ- 
ment, and  occupation,  and  parents'  occupation,  and  condition 
of  such  person  so  committed  to  his  care  during  the  term  of  such 
probation  and  the  result  of  such  probation.  Such  record  of  such 
probation  officer  shall  be  and  constitute  a  part  of  the  records  of 
the  court,  and  shall  at  all  times  be  open  to  the  inspection  of  the 
court,  or  of  any  person  appointed  by  the  court  for  that  purpose, 
as  well  as  of  all  magistrates,  and  the  chief  of  police,  or  other 
head  of  the  police,  unless  otherwise  ordered  by  the  court.  Said 
books  of  record  shall  be  furnished  for  the  use  of  said  probation 
officer  or  said  county,  and  shall  be  paid  for  out  of  the  county 
treasury. 

9.  The  probation  officer  shall  furnish  to  each  person  who 
has  been   released  on   probation,   and   committed   to   his  care,   a 
written  statement  of  the  terms  and  conditions  of  his  probation, 
unless  such  statement  has  been  furnished  by  the  court,  and  shall 
report  to  the  court,  judge  or  justice,  releasing  such  person  upon 
probation,  any  violation  or  breach  of  the  terms  and  conditions 
imposed  by  such  court  on  the  person  placed  in  his  care. 

10.  Such  probation  officer  shall  have,  as  to  the  person  so 
committed   to  the  care  of  said  probation   officer,  the  powers  of 
a  peace  officer. 

Sec.  2.     This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 


The  Theory  of  Probation 

In  the  Superior  Court  of  the  State  of  California,  in  and  for  the 
County  of  Los  Angeles. 

People  of  the  State  of  California,   Plaintiff,  vs. 
Ruby  Casselman,  Defendant. 

OPINION. 

The  plan  of  probation  is  a  new  one  to  our  law,  having 
only  been  enforced  since  1(X)3.  \Yhilc  this  system  of  probation 
has  already  produced  good  results,  and  in  time  may  produce 
grand  results,  it  must  be  evident  that  the  power  of  the  court  must 
be  exercised  with  great  care,  and  must  not  be  used  as  a  mere 
pardoning  power.  This  is  a  wonderfully  free  country,  and  it  is 
only  through  the  criminal  court  that  the  state  places  its  hand 
upon  any  man  or  woman  and  deprives  them  of  liberty.  This 
is  the  only  form  of  deterrent  to  crime  recognized  by  the  law, 
and  if  it  should  become  generally  understood  that  probation 
could  readily  and  easily  be  obtained  for  offenses,  it  might  start 
many  men  on  a  wild  career  of  crime  who  are  now  deterred  by 
the  wholesome  fear  of  punishment. 

The  court  is  not  justified  in  considering  solely  the  position 
and  possible  benefit  to  the  defendant.  If  this  were  the  case  all 
defendants  would  be  placed  on  probation.  Xor  is  the  court 
justified  in  considering  as  the  sole  question  before  it  the  refor- 
mation of  the  defendant.  \Yhile  this  is  a  result  highly  to  be 
desired,  and  important  to  the  state  as  well  as  to  the  individual, 
this  fact  cannot  alone  be  considered. 

Indeed,  as  is  evident  in  this  case  alone,  the  problem  of  pro- 
bation is  one  of  the  most  difficult  with  which  a  judge  can  be 
confronted.  Xo  man  can  see  punishment  for  sin  without  sym- 
pathy for  the  sufferer,  and  a  desire  to  alleviate  the  suffering. 
This  desire  on  the  part  of  well-meaning'  persons  very  often  leads 
them  to  assist  the  defendant  by  means  not  always  justifiable,  but 
where  witli  this  sympathy  also  comes  an  obligation  to  do  entire 
justice  to  both  the  defendant  and  the  people,  the  great  respon- 
sibility is  one  difficult  of  correct  fulfillment. 

In  the  case  at  bar  if  we  were  to  consider  the  defendant 
alone  and  determine  solely  with  reference  to  her  own  retorma- 
tion,  it  is  almost  conclusive  of  the  question  on  probation  that 
notwithstanding1  the  fact  the  leniencv  of  the  court  has  once  been 


230  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

extended  to  her,  and  for  more  than  two  years  she  has  been  in 
contact  with  and  under  the  supervision  of  probation  officers, 
she  plans  and  carries  out  a  number  of  daring  forgeries.  This  fact 
alone  would  seem  to  indicate  that  probation  with  her  is  not  a 
success.  It  seems  self-evident  that  in  this  case  the  defendant 
will  not  be  reformed  and  the  public  will  not  be  protected  by 
probation  in  any  of  its  forms.  If  in  this  case  a  system  of  pro- 
bation could  be  devised  by  which  the  defendant  would  be  re- 
strained of  her  liberty  during  the  period  of  probation,  and  thus 
she  would  be  prevented  from  wrong-doing,  and  the  public  would 
be  protected  from  her  wrong-doing,  such  a  plan  might  meet  the 
approval  of  the  court. 

In  connection  with  the  application  for  probation  one  fact 
counts  for  the  defendant  in  one  sense  and  against  her  in  another, 
namely  :  that  so  far  as  the  evidence  shows  her  companions  and 
friends  have  all  been  respectable,  upright,  law-abiding  citizens. 
She  has  been  an  attendant  at  church  and  the  Christian  Endeavor 
Society.  This  fact  counts  in  her  favor  as  tending  to  show  good 
character,  but  on  the  other  hand  it  counts  against  her  in  this 
regard  :  that  if  her  associates  had  heretofore  been  evil  and  they 
could  be  changed,  the  very  fact  of  the  change  in  surroundings 
and  environment  might  help  her  to  a  complete  reformation.  But 
having  sinned  against  the  light  renders  the  question  of  her  re- 
formation much  more  difficult.  Indeed,  there  seems  to  be  nothing 
suggested  to  be  done  for  her  that  has  not  already  been  done.  She 
has  apparently  been  surrounded  through  her  troubles  by  loving, 
affectionate  and  believing  friends.  Some  of  these  are  now  ready 
to  take  upon  themselves  the  responsibility  of  her  maintenance 
and  care,  notwithstanding  her  weak  physical  condition. 

If  we  take  the  other  horn  of  the  dilemma,  and  assume  that 
the  statement  made  by  the  defendant  in  her  application  for 
probation  is  true,  namely:  that  these  skillful  forgeries  have  been 
perpetrated  without  any  knowledge  on  her  part  of  the  trans- 
action, and  that  she  has  now  neither  recollection  of  the  act  nor 
consciousness  of  guilt,  it  is  almost  self-evident  that  it  would  be 
impossible  to  release  the  defendant  from  custody,  and  that  she 
should  be  restrained  from  her  liberty  until  such  time  as  her 
mind  is  restored  to  its  normal  condition. 

Probation  being  in  this  case  out  of  the  question  as  a  pos- 
sible solution  of  the  situation,  the  application  of  the  defendant 
must  be  denied,  and  it  only  remains  for  the  court  to  pronounce 
judgment  upon  the  defendant  in  accordance  with  the  law  fixing 
the  punishment  for  the  crime  she  has  been  found  guilty  of. 

CURTIS  D.  WILBUR,  Judge. 


What  Two  Degenerates  Cost  Los  Angeles 

A  constant  stream  of  wrecked  and  ruined  humanity  pours 
through  the  police  courts  and  jails  of  a  great  city,  and  scarcely 
anyone,  except  those  whose  work  brings  them  in  direct  contact 
with  these  institutions,  gives  thought  to  the  direful  significance 
or  the  underlying  causes  of  this  condition.  Occasionally,  how- 
ever, some  one  of  these  creatures  ventures  a  crime  of  such  mag- 
nitude and  importance  that  the  attention  of  the  public  is  directed 
to  him  and,  for  a  moment,  to  his  class. 

Two  cases  in  point  are  of  Huck,  the  murderer,  and  IJrain.  the 
incendiary,  whose  wretched  personalities  have  been  presented 
to  the  horrified  gaze  of  the  public  by  the  newspapers  recently. 
The  first  named  shoots  down  an  innocent,  kind-hearted  woman 
without  the  shadow  of  a  cause,  the  wife  of  a  wealthy  and  highly 
esteemed  citizen.  The  other  sets  fire  to  a  number  of  buildings, 
with  a  loss  to  the  city  of  at  least  $100,000.  A  valuable  life  and  a 
large  amount  of  property  sacrificed  by  two  miserable  beings  who 
were  utterly  worthless  to  themselves  and  to  the  community. 

These  men  serve  as  a  striking  illustration  of  the  delinquent 
and  his  relation  to  society.  They  differ  only  in  degree  from  each 
of  the  thousand  tramps,  drunks  and  bad  characters  that  are  ar- 
rested and  thrown  into  jail  every  six  months  in  this  city.  The 
loss  that  society  suffers  through  the  existence  of  these  beings 
can  be  figured  on  the  money  side  into  millions  of  dollars,  but 
on  the  side  of  human  suffering  and  sorrow  aggregate  a  volume  of 
woe  that  cannot  be  expressed  in  language. 

The  civilized  world  is  just  at  the  threshold  of  a  deeper  and 
more  complete  realization  of  the  responsibility  of  society  lor  the 
existence  of  these  delinquents  and  of  the  price  it  pays  for  their 
existence.  The  spirit  of  angry  revenge  that  has  existed  for  so 
many  centuries  and  the  fatalistic  sentiment  that  these  condi- 
tions are  inevitable  and  that  no  one  is  to  blame  for  them,  are  in 
turn  giving  way  to  a  belief  that  society  is  to  blame  and  that  it 
holds  the  means  of  remedy  in  its  own  hands.  Children's  play- 
grounds, factory  legislation,  child  labor  legislation,  compul- 
sory education,  better  housing  conditions,  vacation  schools. 
fresh  air  movements — these  are  the  things  that  strike  at 
the  very  root,  of  the  trouble,  and  in  the  course  ot  one  or  two 
generations,  will  make  the  world  materially  better.  It  every 
child  born  into  the  world  could  be  sure  of  light  and  air  and  exer- 
cise, cleanliness,  sufficient  food,  education,  amusement  and  decent 
surroundings,  there  would  be  almost  no  delinquents;  and  it  the 
few  that  came  into  existence  were  justly  and  kindly  but  tirmly 
dealt  with,  there  would  be  hope  for  their  reformation. 

—  Los  Angeles   Municipal    League. 


PROBATION  OR  JAIL? 

In  jail  or  prison  a  man  is  associated  with  tramps  and  vic- 
ious criminals.  On  probation  he  is  under  the  influence  of  a 
helpful  friend. 

In  jail  a  man  is  disgraced  and  becomes  known  as  a  jail-bird. 
On  probation  he  is  spared  the  brand  of  imprisonment. 

In  jail  a  man  is  discouraged  and  embittered  against  so- 
ciety. On  probation  he  is  encouraged  to  improve  his  habits, 
and  is  led  to  appreciate  the  probation  officer's  friendship  and  aid. 

In  jail  a  man  is  supported  almost  entirely,  or  entirely,  at 
public  expense.  On  probation  he  is  made  to  work  and  is  wholly 
self-supporting. 

In  jail  a  man  can  not  support  his  family,  who  in  consequence 
may  suffer.  On  probation  he  is  required  to  provide  for  his 
family. 

After  leaving  jail  a  man  finds  it  difficult  to  obtain  and  to 
keep  employment.  When  discharged  from  probation  he  is  al- 
ready employed  and  the  same  employment  continues. 

After  leaving  jail  a  man  will  likely  again  indulge  in  mis- 
conduct and  be  again  arrested  and  imprisoned.  When  dis- 
charged from  probation  he  will  likely  remain  a  law-abiding 
citizen. 

Which  is  better? — Juvenile  Court  Record. 


JUDGE   FRANK   R.    WILLIS 

Presiding  in  Department  11  of  the  Superior  Court  in  Los  Angeles  County, 

to  which  department  one-half  of  all  criminal  caires  are  assigned. 

(Now  Presiding  Judge) 


Some  Results  of  Adult  Probation 

By  Judge  Frank   R.   Willis* 

The  statute  of  California,  commonly  known  as  the  Probation 
Law,  which  gives  to  the  Superior  Court  the  power  to  suspend 
proceedings  in  a  criminal  case  prior  to  sentence,  or  to  suspend 
the  execution  of  a  judgment  after  the  same  has  been  pronounced 
has  been  in  force  for  a  sufficient  length  of  time  to  show  to  a 
certain  extent  its  efficiency  by  the  results  of  the  same. 

It  is  an  innovation  which  marks  a  step  forward  in  the  eco- 
nomic and  humane  treatment  of  criminals.  Theoretically,  it  is 
endorsed  and  commended  by  the  leading  criminologists  of  the 
United  States  and  of  almost  every  foreign  country.  Practically, 
it  is  endorsed  by  the  judiciary  and  legislatures  of  more  than 
one-half  the  states,  and  as  experience  guides  the  judiciary  in 
administering  a  law,  it  must,  if  we  judge  by  past  experience,  be- 
come more  and  more  efficient. 

My  observations  of  the  workings  of  this  law  has  extended 
over  several  years,  and  has  brought  me  to  the  conclusion  that 
laws  enacted  for  the  purpose  of  allowing  defendants  to  regain 
their  reputation  and  standing  in  society  without  the  interven- 
tion of  a  term  in  state's  prison,  are  proven  highly  beneficial,  both 
to  the  general  public  and  to  the  criminal.  The  object  of  im- 
prisoning criminals  is  primarily  to  protect  society,  but  this  pro- 
tection is  best  secured  by  the  reformation  of  the  criminal.  I 
use  the  word  criminal,  of  course,  in  its  ordinary  acceptation  ; 
that  is,  as  representing  a  person,  who,  for  some  breach  of  the 
law,  has  found  himself  under  the  judgment  of  a  proper  court. 
Until  recent  years  it  was  the  rule  that  whenever  a  defendant 
had  been  found  guilty  of  certain  acts  prohibited  by  statute,  that 
he  should  be  confined  in  a  jail  or  state  prison  for  a  length  of 
time  dependent  upon  the  judgment  of  the  court  in  which  the  con- 
viction was  had,  subject,  of  course,  to  the  term  limit  provided  by 
the  legislature.  This  judgment  was  more  or  less  severe,  ac- 
cording to  the  education  and  experience  of  the  judge  and  sub- 
ject largely  to  the  public  excitement  resultant  upon  the  com- 
mission of  the  offense.  In  recent  years,  however,  there  has  been 
a  great  change  of  sentiment  in  regard  to  the  manner  of  protect- 
ing society  from  criminal  acts,  and  it  is  now  conceded  by  soci- 

*Notc. — Judge    Frank    R.    Willis    sits    in    Department     11     an.l     tries 
criminal  cases. 


234  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

ologists  that  the  best  interests  of  society  are  subserved  by  re- 
forming the  criminal  instead  of  removing  him  for  a  longer  or 
shorter  period  from  his  family,  friends  and  business  interests. 
For  this  reason  probation  laws  have  been  enacted  in  California 
and  in  many  other  states  giving  the  courts  power,  in  proper 
cases,  to  suspend  proceedings  or  judgment  for  a  sufficient  length 
of  time  to  enable  the  court  to  determine  whether  or  not,  under 
proper  environments  and  supervision  the  convicted  person  may 
become  a  respected  and  useful  citizen.  The  conditions  usually 
imposed  by  the  court  are  that  the  defendant  shall  continue  to 
reside  within  the  county  or  state;  that  he  procure  and  constantly 
follow  a  legitimate  and  remunerative  employment;  that  he  re- 
frain from  the  use  of  drugs,  narcotics  and  intoxicating  liquors; 
that  he  do  not  frequent  pool  rooms,  saloons,  cafes  where  intox- 
icating liquors  are  sold  ;  that  he  avoid  the  company  of  idle,  lewd 
or  dissolute  people ;  with  special  provisions  that  he  put  a  cer- 
tain percentage  of  his  earnings  in  the  savings  bank,  pay  his 
wages  to  the  probation  officer  for  the  better  support  of  the  de- 
fendant's family ;  that  young  and  uneducated  criminals  attend 
day  or  night  school  or  apprentice  themselves  to  some  useful 
trade  or  occupation,  or  any  other  special  condition  which  sug- 
gests itself  to  the  court. 

A  faithful  adherence  to  these  provisions  for  the  length  of 
time  fixed  by  the  court  entitles,  and  justly  so,  the  defendant 
to  have  his  plea  of  guilty  or  judgment  of  conviction  set  aside 
and  enables  him  to  go  forth  into  life  without  the  stigma  of  the 
conviction  attached  to  his  name. 

In  practice  I  have,  in  addition  to  placing  the  defendant 
under  the  supervision  of  the  county  probation  officer,  desig- 
nated some  reputable  and  responsible  friend  of  the  defendant 
special  probation  officer,  whose  duty  it  is  to  see  that  the  defend- 
ant secures  employment  before  being  released  from  custody; 
that  he  thereafter  sees  that  defendant  is  kept  constantly  employed 
and  faithfully  observes  the  conditions  of  his  probation.  In  many 
cases  I  require  from  the  probationer  at  least  once  a  week  a  writ- 
ten report  showing  his  place  of  employment,  amount  of  wages 
earned  and  itemized  list  of  expenditures,  together  with  a  state- 
ment of  where  the  defendant  spends  his  evenings,  holidays  and 
unemployed  time,  which  written  statements,  when  necessary,  I 
turn  over  to  the  probation  officer  for  verification. 

In  this  county  with  over  300  adult  offenders  placed  on  pro- 
bation within  the  last  three  years,  less  than  ten  per  cent  have 
been  returned  to  the  court  for  a  violation  of  the  conditions  im- 
posed upon  them.  \\  e  now  have  about  300  adult  probationers 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  235 

earning  on  an  average  $15.00  per  week,  making  a  total  of  about 
$4500.00  per  week,  or  $180,000  a  year.  This  money  is  used  for 
the  support  of  the  probationers  and  their  families,  saves  to  the 
state  three  hundred  citizens  who  otherwise  might  be  turned  into 
hardened  criminals,  cares  for  dependent  families  and  relatives, 
and  saves  to  the  state  at  least  $75,000  per  year,  which  is  a  low 
estimate  of  expense  of  committing  and  caring  for  that  number 
of  prisoners.  The  probation  system  saves  the  county  and  state 
thousands  of  dollars  heretofore  expended  upon  the  trial  of 
criminal  cases,  in  which  defendants  now  plead  guilty,  depending 
upon  a  previous  good  record  and  the  promise  of  friends  to  pro- 
cure for  them  such  assistance  and  environment  as  will  aid  them 
in  their  future  reformation. 

Similar  in  principle  to  the  probation  system  is  the  parole  sys- 
tem by  which  persons  incarcerated  in  the  state's  prison  of  this 
state  are  allowed  to  go  out  from  prison  under  the  supervision 
of  the  warden  and  state  parole  officers.  The  acts  required  of  the 
defendant  on  parole  are  similar  to  those  already  described  as 
being  required  of  a  person  on  probation,  and  so  successful 
has  been  its  operation  that  since  the  statute  authorizing  the  same 
went  into  effect  less  than  eleven  per  cent  have  been  returned 
of  account  of  violation  of  parole,  and  in  my  recent  visit  of  the 
state  prisons  at  Folsom  and  San  Ouentin  I  found  by  talking 
with  large  numbers  of  prisoners  that  the  right  to  apply  for 
parole  is  their  most  valued  privilege;  that  the  system  is  highly 
recommended  by  the  warden  and  .Board  of  Prison  Commission- 
ers in  this  state.  Through  three  year  of  experience  on  the  criminal 
bench  of  this  county,  as  well  as  by  personal  correspondence  and 
conversation  with  the  warden  and  prison  commissioners  in  manv 
of  the  different  states,  I  am  satisfied  that  the  adult  probation 
system,  as  well  as  the  parole  system,  is  proving  satisfactory: 
that  in  the  near  future  they  will  become  universal  in  every 
county  and  state.  Individuals  and  society  will  be  benefitted. 
From  them  will'  result  economy  and  decrease  in  the  expense 
of  our  penal  institutions,  and  neither  individuals  nor  the  public 
will  have  occasion  to  regret  any  steps  taken  developing  and  car- 
rying out  the  humane  system  which  we  have  adopted. 


Our  Father 


"Our  Father" — father  of  the  nation's  light ; 

Father  of  truth,  of  justice  and  of  right ; 

Father  of  nature's  and  of  nature's  art 

Father  of  all  and  with  a  father's  heart! 
"Who  Art  in  Heaven" — realm  of  peace  and  rest- 
Consoling  hope  of  all  the  world's  oppressed, 

Heaven,  the  haven  of  all  prodigals 

Toward  which  all  turn  when  folly's  pleasure  palls. 
"Hallowed  Be  Thy  Name" — Supreme  of  peers ! 

The  one  name  reverenced  through  all  the  spheres! 

For  all  tongues  common  and  above  all  fame — 

The  one  eternal  and  immortal  name ! 
"Thy  Kingdom  Come" — (),  haste  the  happy  clay- 
When  truth  and  justice  shall  hold  boundless  sway! 

And  blinded  ignorance  be  taught  to  see, 

And  love  assert  its  true  supremacy. 
"Thy  Will  Be  Done  on  Earth"— All  nations  won! 

What  yotilcl  not  earth  be  if  Thy  will  were  done; 

No  war,  no  want,  no  paupers  and  no  peers ! 

No  greed  nor  selfishness,  no  jails  nor  tears! 
"Give  Us  This  Day  Our  Daily  Bread"— Ah,  me ! 

Most  human  guests  of  all  the  Master's  plea! 

The  cry  insistent  thru  all  ages — "['read!" 

How  fatherlike  the  good  and  bad  are  fed  ! 
"Forgive  Our  Trespasses  As  We  Forgive" — 

All  Christian  precepts  within  this  line  do  live! 

The  crushing  power  of  Him  who  kindly  speaks. 

Transcends  all  punishment  that  error  wreaks. 
"And  Lead  Us  Not  Into  Temptation's  Path"— 

The  Master  well  knew  all  Kve's  aftermath  ! 

"BUT  DELIVER  FROM  ALL  FA'IL  THIXGS"- 

For  every  evil  hath  a  thousand  stings! 
"All  Thine  the  Kingdom  Is,  the  Glory,  Power" — 

Thy  handiwork  the  universe — the  flower! 

The  rushing  planets  round  Thee  ceaseless  wend, 

"FOREVER  AX1)  FoKEYKR   WITHOUT  END." 
— Wm.  J.   Danford. 

[This  poem  was  written  by  a  man  no\v  in  the  States  Prison  at  San 
Quentin,  and  was  read  by  him  to  the  other  prisoners  at  the  Christmas 
festivities  in  the  Los  Angeles  County  Jail  in  1910.  and  is  published  with 
his  consent  as  a  graphic  illustration  of  the  fact  that  all  men — convicts 
as  well  as  others,  are  a  singular  mixture  of  good  and  bad.] 


D 
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cu 

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— 


Adult  Probation  in  Los  Angeles 
County 

By  Judge   Paul    McCormick* 

In  olden  times  the  theory  of  retributive  justice  \vas  based 
on  "An  eye  for  an  eye,  a  life  for  a  life,"  and  organized  society  in 
dealing"  with  those  of  its  members  who  had  committed  infrac- 
tions of  its  rules  was  concerned  only  with  the  sustaining  of  the 
majesty  of  the  law  by  inflicting  punishment  upon  all  wrong- 
doers. The  element  of  the  offender,  himself,  was  given  very  lit- 
tle, if  any,  thought  in  the  means  of  dealing  with  him,  and  a 
breach  of  any  of  the  rules  of  conduct  which  organized  society 
had  established  for  its  members  was  always  visited  with  pun- 
ishment, and,  indeed,  sometimes  with  torture.  We  read  that 
petit  larceny,  even  in  the  most  enlightened  nations  of  Europe 
was  punishable  with  the  death  penalty  not  many  centuries  ago, 
and  I  have  been  told  by  pioneer  lawyers  of  California,  that  petit 
thefts  in  our  own  state  were  visited  with  the  same  penalty  at 
one  epoch,  but  society  in  more  modern  times  has  become  mind- 
ful of  the  fact  that  the  offender,  many  times,  is  not  entirely  to 
blame  for  his  crime,  but  that  society  itself  is  greatly  responsible 
for  the  misdeeds  of  its  members. 

While  I  firmly  and  honestly  believe  that  there  are.  and  al- 
ways have  been  habitual  and  confirmed  criminals,  innately  and 
inherently  so,  and  also  that  there  are  and  always  have  been 
crimes  so  atrocious  and  flagrant  as  to  merit  nothing  but  the 
most  severe  penalty,  I  am  also  constrained  to  acknowledge  that 
most  of  the  criminal  class,  and  many  of  the  crimes,  are  caused  by 
mal-education.  lUit  we  are  concerned  with  the  causes,  of  crime 
only  as  they  suggest  remedies.  Society  has,  therefore,  in  recent 
years  awakened  to  a  realization  of  the  fact  that  while  penal  in- 
stitutions of  all  kinds  have  been  taxed  to  their  utmost  capacities 
by  unfortunates  who  have  been  committed  there  by  the  courts. 
crime  has  increased  instead  of  diminished,  and  tin's  condition 
led  thinking  men  and  students  to  believe  that  there  must  be 
some  other  system  adopted  which  would  have  the  e fleet  ot  bet- 
tering conditions  of  societv,  of  minimizing  crime  and  o!  de- 
creasing criminality. 

Among  all  of  the  methods  suggested   and   means  devised.   T 

*Notc. — Jud^e   McComiick   sits   in    Dop.-irtnu'in    U  and   trios   •,-:iminui 
cases. 


238  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


believe  that  none  has  been  more  cffieacious  or  beneficial  than 
what  is  known  as  the  probationary  system  for  the  treatment  of 
adult  offenders.  It  is  a  system  for  the  treatment  of  crime  which 
I  believe  is  generally  misunderstood.  Many  persons  unfamiliar 
with  it  believe  that  it  is  simply  a  sentimental  method  whereby 
the  criminal  is  absolved  by  a  court  and  permitted  to  go  scott 
free  without  conditions  or  restraint  of  any  kind.  If  this  were 
the  case,  the  criticism  often  made  of  the  probationary  system 
would  be  well  founded,  for  instead  of  being  a  powerful  agency 
in  the  elimination  of  wrong  doing  and  the  betterment  of  social 
conditions,  it  would  be  an  encouragement  of  crime  and  an  in- 
vitation for  criminal  practices.  But  a  careful  study  of  this  pro- 
bationary system  as  it  has  been  applied  even  by  the  courts  of 
record  of  our  own  county  will  indicate  and  demonstrate  clearly 
the  power  for  good  that  it  has  been  since  its  adoption  and  ap- 
plication some  seven  years  ago. 

In  Department  12  of  the  Superior  Court  of  this  county,  over 
which  I  have  the  honor  to  preside,  there  were  placed  on  proba- 
tion during  the  year  1911  sixty-seven  adult  persons  who  were 
found  guilty  of  felonies,  and  the  records  of  that  department  will 
further  disclose  that  only  four  of  that  number  were  reported  to 
the  court  as  having  violated  the  terms  of  their  probation  and 
sent  to  prison.  This,  I  believe,  alone  would  justify  the  proba- 
tionary system  for  the  treatment  of  adult  offenders,  for  is  it  not 
better  for  the  community  itself,  to  say  nothing  of  the  defend- 
ant, that  the  offender  has  been  able  to  re-establish  himself  as  a 
useful  member  of  society  rather  than  be  confined  to  state's  prison 
and  the  community  lose  the  probability  of  his  reclamation,  and 
he,  himself,  probably  become  either  an  habitual  and  confirmed 
criminal  or  emerge  from  the  penitentiary  so  broken  in  spirit 
and  blighted  in  ambition  as  to  be  of  no  further  use  to  society. 

I  have  observed  much  opposition  to  the  application  of  pro- 
bation in  the  treatment  of  crime  from  peace  officers,  and  I  be- 
lieve that  much  of  their  opposition  is  due  to  ignorance  and  to 
a  failure  on  their  part  to  appreciate  that  probation  is  most  bene- 
ficial even  to  them  in  the  performance  of  their  duties  in  the  pres- 
ervation of  peace  and  in  the  enforcement  of  law  in  their  respect- 
ive communities.  An  interview  with  any  of  the  peace  officers 
will  disclose  that  they  have  much  more  trouble  with  the  ex- 
convict  class  than  they  do  with  those  who  have  been  placed 
on  probation  for  crimes,  and  yet  many  of  them  seem  to  fail  to 
realize  that  the  most  efficient  peace  officer  is  the  one  who  has 
the  least  lawlessness  and  crime  in  his  community,  and  that  the 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  239 

measure  of  the  efficiency  of  any  peace  officer  is  not  the  number 
of  persons  whom  he  brings  to  justice. 

Probation,  like  punishment  or  any  other  method  for  the 
treatment  of  crime,  applies  only  to  guilty  persons,  that  is,  to 
those  who  have  either  been  convicted  after  a  trial  or  who.  hav- 
ing been  accused,  have  voluntarily  entered  a  plea  of  guilty  to  a 
criminal  charge.  Probation  in  this  state  simply  means  that  the 
court  instead  of  pronouncing  a  judgment  of  imprisonment  on 
the  culprit,  for  good  cause  shown,  after  a  thorough  investiga- 
tion of  the  case  suspends  the  pronouncement  of  judgment  and 
places  the  accused  upon  his  good  behavior  for  a  certain  fixed 
and  definite  period,  and  upon  certain  conditions  and  specified 
terms.  If  at  any  time  during  the  period  of  suspension  the  guilty 
person  commits  a  violation  of  any  of  the  conditions  imposed  or 
of  the  terms  fixed  or  commits  any  further  criminal  offense 
against  the  laws  of  this  state,  he  may  be  brought  into  court 
summarily  and  without  any  further  legal  procedure  than  a 
bench  warrant  of  arrest,  and  the  court  which  placed  him  on 
probation  may  revoke  its  order  so  doing,  and  commit  him  to 
prison  for  any  term  provided  by  law;  on  the  other  hand,  if  the 
probationer  observes  the  conditions  and  terms  imposed  and  does 
not  violate  any  law  during  the  period  of  suspension,  the  court 
has  power  at  the  expiration  of  the  probationary  period  to  revoke, 
annul  and  cancel  all  of  the  proceedings  in  the  case,  and  also  to 
obliterate  the  record  of  conviction  against  the  offender.  This 
by  r.o  stretch  of  imagination  can  be  construed  into  an  effort 
or  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  court  to  experiment  with  crime 
or  to  encourage  criminality,  for  criminals  are  not  made  in  a  day, 
but  become  such  only  after  a  course  of  misdeeds  and  wrong  do- 
ing, and  if  proper  surveillance  is  exercised  over  probationers  and 
if  they  are  required  to  report  to  the  officers  regularly  and  at 
short  intervals  there  is  little  likelihood  that  they  will  commit 
a  second  serious  crime  while  on  probation. 

Of  course,  the  invocation  by  courts  of  the  probationary 
method  for  the  treatment  of  offenders  should  never  be  dominated 
by  pure  sentiment,  but  rather  the  individual  case  must  be  care- 
fully studied  in  all  its  phases,  and  this  remedy  applied  only  when 
as  a  scientific  and  judicial  fact  it  is  determined  that  it  will  prove 
effective  and  beneficial  to  the  community  at  large  as  well  as 
to  the  defendant  himself,  for  otherwise  the  system  would  actu- 
ally invite  and  encourage  the  commission  of  crime,  instead  of 
being  a  powerful  agency  and  antidote  against  criminality  and 
wickedness. 

I  have  said  that  probation  should  never  be  granted  or  ex- 


240  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

tended  1>y  the  courts  for  purely  sentimental  reasons — and  I 
would  s^o  further  and  state  that  its  application  by  the  courts 
should  never  be  opposed  by  the  community  for  the  same  reasons. 
A  person  may  in  a  moment  or  period  of  thoughtlessness  or 
weakness  commit  a  serious  crime,  not  one  such  as  I  have  ad- 
verted to  which  on  account  of  its  enormity  or  atrocity  neces- 
sarily called  for  speedy  and  condign  punishment,  but  one  where, 
on  account  of  either  incomplete  and  prejudiced  report,  or  mone- 
tary and  impulsive  bitterness  against  the  perpetrator,  public  sent— 
ment  has  become  so  aroused  as  to  demand  as  the  price  for  the 
misdeed  the  infliction  of  prison  sentence  upon  the  accused. 
Would  it  not  be  better  and  more  just  in  such  a  case  to  first  ac- 
quaint ourselves  with  all  the  evidence  which  was  produced  in 
court,  both  for  and  against  the  accused,  with  all  the  circum- 
stances of  the  case  as  shown  by  that  evidence,  with  his  life's 
history,  environment,  temptations,  advantages,  physical  abili- 
ties and  opportunities,  before  opposing  action  by  the  court  dis- 
posing of  such  case  by  probation.  Remember  that  the  people  in 
creating  courts  by  constitutions  and  laws  have  demanded  that 
they  determine  causes  upon  the  evidence  presented  therein, 
without  fear  or  favor,  heedless  of  public  passion,  emotion  or 
sentiment,  and  with  a  desire  to  coolly,  calmly,  deliberately  and 
fairly  administer  and  dispense  justice  between  man  and  man 
and  sometimes  even  between  man  and  the  people  who  are  prose- 
cuting him  in  an  effort  to  deprive  him  of  his  liberty. 

*  Remember  also  that  the  people  as  well  as  the  courts  are 
human,  and  therefore  subject  to  error,  but  that  it  is  more  prob- 
able, in  the  absence  of  incompetency,  dishonesty  or  partiality, 
that  the  disposition  of  a  case  by  a  court  is  more  nearly  accurate 
and  just  than  the  momentary  demands  of  the  populace  often- 
times impulsively  formed  and  frequently  without  any  true  knowl- 
edge of  the  facts  or  circumstances  of  the  case. 

I  close  by  narrating  an  incident  which  occurred  about  a 
year  ago.  A  young  man  of  about  twenty-one,  of  good  anteced- 
ents, had  so  forgotten  himself  as  to  embezzle  a  sum  of  money  in 
excess  of  live  thousand  dollars  from  his  employer.  He  was 
finally  caught  in  this  peculation  and  confessed.  On  investiga- 
tion it  was  found  that  his  misappropriation  had  covered  a  period 
of  considerable  time,  thus  aggravating  the  dishonesty.  He  was 
arrested  and  prosecuted  for  the  crime,  and  after  entering  a  plea 
of  guilt}',  made  application  for  probation.  There  was  much  op- 
position tit  him.  and  in  fact  public  sentiment  was  very  much 
aroused.  After  hearing  the  application  for  probation  it  was 
shown  by  the  evidence  that  he  had  become  a  victim  of  disso- 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  2H 


lute  associates  and  had  dissipated  the  money  in  high  living,  and, 
in  a  word,  there  were  so  many  circumstances  in  mitigation 
shown  by  the  evidence  that  the  cqurt  pronounced  its  judgment 
thus: 

"The  judgment  and  sentence  in  this  case  is  suspended  for 
a  period  of  five  years  from  this  date,  and  you,  the  defendant,  are 
placed  on  probation  for  that  time  under  the  supervision  of  the 
probation  officer  of  this  county  under  the  following  conditions: 
You  shall  stay  home  at  night ;  you  shall  remain  within  the 
county;  you  shall  not  visit  pool  rooms,  nor  frequent  cafes  or 
places  where  intoxicating  liquors  are  dispensed  ;  you  shall  re- 
frain from  the  use  of  intoxicants  or  narcotics,  and  you  shrill  go 
to  work  immediately  at  some  lawful  employment  and  keep  at 
it  until  you  have  paid  back  every  dollar  you  stole — violate  these 
terms  and  you  go  to  prison." 

At  the  time,  the  action  of  the  court  provoked  some  criti- 
cism, since  it  has  been  characterized  not  only  as  a  novel  but 
also  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  efficacious  ever  pro- 
nounced upon  an  offender.  It  has  been  heralded  by  the  press  of 
this  county  and  commented  on  with  general  approval,  and  al- 
though its  period  has  not  yet  expired,  the  recipient  of  it  has 
so  far  vindicated  and  attested  its  wisdom  by  an  exemplary  life 
of  honesty  and  usefulness. 

If  this  course  continues,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve it  will,  is  not  the  community  bettered  and  society  in  general 
enriched? 

Such  is  a  result  of  our  probation  svstem,  which,  in  my  judg- 
ment, has  done  more  in  the  few  years  of  its  existence  to  reclaim 
the  criminally  inclined,  and  to  reform  criminality  than  all  the 
prison  sentences  that  have  ever  been  imposed. 


"To  be  true,  through  and  through,  is  real  success." 
"God's  in  his  heaven,  all's  right  with  the  world." — Margaret 
Marsh-Parker. 

"To  gain  an  object  by  suggestion   is  always  better  than  to 
gain  it  by  force." — A.  C.  Dodds. 

"The  highest  type  of  goodness   is  that    which 
the   service   of   the    community    all    that    a    man    i; 
Rauschbusch. 

"\\  hat  you  can  do,  or  dream  v<>u  can.  begin  it  : 
Boldness  has  genius,  power  and  magic  in  it." — Goethe. 


242  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

Hints  By  Probation  Officers 

To  be  connected  even  for  a  couple  of  years  with  the  great 
modern  movement  toward  child  justice — what  does  it  mean,  what 
impression  does  it  leave?  So  to  deal  with  the  abnormal  child 
that  he  become  to  a  degree  normal,  so  to  guide  the  headstrong, 
lawless  boy  that  he  choose  to  be  a  law-keeper,  so  to  brace  the 
weak  will  that  it  become  backbone,  so  to  love  the  wayward  girl 
that  she  grow  into  self-respecting  womanhood ;  to  plant  in  either 
boy  or  girl  a  wish  for  strong,  true  manhood  or  womanhood,  and 
then  to  hold  them  to  the  best  there  is  in  them — this  is  a  little  of 
what  it  is  to  be  a  successful  probation  officer.  And  the  attempt 
to  do  even  a  little  of  this  in  the  few  minutes  one  may  have  with 
each  child  inspires  one  peculiarly  with  a  sense  of  the  high  calling 
of  parent,  teacher,  and  community,  upon  whom  rests  the  primary 
responsibility  of  keeping  the  normal  child  normal. 

MISS   LOUISE   BARBER. 

From  close  observation  and  study  of  the  girl  work  in  con- 
nection with  the  juvenile  court,  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with 
this  fact,  that,  although  there  are  only  about  one-twelfth  as  many 
delinquent  girls  as  boys  brought  into  the  juvenile  court  of  Los 
Angeles  County,  the  charge  against  the  girls  in  almost  every 
instance  involves  a  loss  of  chastity.  The  causes  which  contribute 
to  this  condition  are  practically  the  same  here  as  they  are  in 
other  cities  of  this  size — economic  conditions  largely,  but  in  addi- 
tion, we,  in  Southern  California,  have  to  combat  with  our  beau- 
tiful climate  and  the  beckoning  beach  resorts.  These  all  tend  to 
destroy  the  home  life  and  when  the  the  Sundays  are  spent  at 
the  beaches,  all  religious  and  moral  training  is  thrown  to  the 
winds. 

MISS  O.  J.  SHONTZ. 

The  work  of  a  probation  officer  is  not  limited  by  time  nor 
space.  Results  which  may  appear  on  the  surface  are  not  neces- 
sarily the  criterion  of  such  efforts.  The  heavier  balance  is  the 
unconscious  influence  which  comes  from  the  continual  effort  to 
instill  in  young  minds  and  hearts,  right  motives  and  noble 
thoughts. 

Who  will  say  that  because  a  child  makes  one  misstep  or  falls 
a  second  time  that  good  is  altogether  lacking?  Persistency  is 
the  virtue  that  wins  in  the  face  of  all  odds. 

EDWARD   SOLOMON. 


The  Cost  of  Sin 

By  Judge  Curtis   D.   Wilbur 

Judge  of  the  Juvenile  Court  in  Los  Angeles  County* 

An  after-dinner  address  delivered  by  Judge  Curtis  D.  Wil- 
bur at  a  banquet  given  to  Dr.  J.  Wilbur  Chapman  and  his  corps 
of  evangelists  by  the  Greater  Finance  Committee  who  had  un- 
dertaken to  finance  the  expenses  of  the  services  conducted  by 
them. 

"Mr.  Toastmaster,  Gentlemen  of  the  Greater  Finance  Com- 
mittee, and  Friends :  A  few  days  ago  there  stood  before  me  a 
sweet  faced  girl  of  fifteen.  There  was  nothing  in  her  face  or  in 
her  demeanor  to  indicate  any  waywardness  or  impurity.  She 
was  charged  with  no  crime,  but  with  being  a  dependent  child. 
She  had  depended,  from  the  time  she  was  five  years  of  age,  upon 
a  man  that  she  had  learned  to  know  and  call  father,  the  husband 
of  her  mother.  Taking  advantage  of  that  sacred  relation,  this 
man  had  become  criminally  intimate  with  his  stepdaughter,  and 
not  satisfied  with  himself  debauching  her,  had  brought  her  to 
the  city  of  Los  Angeles,  had  hired  a  room,  and  was  bringing 
men  to  her  room.  A  few  days  before,  in  another  department 
of  the  court,  for  this  offense  the  stepfather  had  been  sent  to  the 
penitentiary  to  serve  a  term  of  fifteen  years.  The  child  had  been 
brought  before  me  in  the  hope  that  her  downward  steps  might 
be  arrested,  and  she  became  a  charge  upon  the  charity  of  the 
public.  Let  us  hope  that  she  may  be  saved  to  be  a  helpful  mem- 
ber of  society.  Her  mother  is  living,  penniless,  in  a  tent  in  the 
outskirts  of  a  nearby  city  with  three  small  children  dependent 
upon  her,  and  all  will  in  all  probability  become  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent  a  public  charge. 

There  are  today  in  the  state  penitentiaries  and  the  two  state 
reformatories  2802  prisoners  whose  maintenance  for  one  year 
only  costs  the  state  of  California  $760,000. 

A  fe\v  days  ago  there  sat  opposite  me  at  the  table  a  young 
man  thirty-six  years  old,  by  his  side  a  sweet-faced  wile  and  a 
lovely  five-year-old  girl,  the  man  charged  by  his  wile  with  in- 
sanity. Without  going  into  the  details  of  the  evidence,  it  may 
be  said  that  the  man  was  a  drug  clerk,  a  graduate  of  a  pharma- 

*Notc. — At  the  request  of  the  Probation  Commit  tor  and  the  Juvenile 
Improvement  Association  this  address  was  printed  for  distribution  to 
the  legislature  in  connection  with  Senate  I'ill  \o.  _M,  which  was  subse- 
quently passed  as  the  Juvenile  Court  Law  of  1(M>7. 


244  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

ceutical  college,  and  had  been  employed  in  a  local  drug  store. 
One  of  the  first  indications  of  his  mental  derangement  was  the 
fact  that  he  had  put  up  a  prescription  in  which  he  had  incor- 
porated a  deadly  poison,  but  had  in  his  confused  condition  read 
drams  for  grains.  Happily  his  work  was  reviewed  by  another 
employe  in  the  store,  and  no  harm  had  been  done.  He  had 
committed  a  crime,  grand  larceny,  but  his  insanity  had  become 
so  apparent  that  he  was  not  prosecuted,  but  was  brought  before 
the  lunacy  commission.  After  listening  to  the  evidence,  includ- 
ing the  history  of  the  case,  one  of  the  physicians  whispered  his 
diagnosis,  "syphilitic  insanity" — a  hopeless  death  for  the  hus- 
band, a  sorrowing  and  hopeless  life  for  the  wife,  and  what  a 
heritage  for  that  sweet-faced  baby  daughter!  I  do  not  wish  to 
be  understood  as  saying  that  all  insanity  is  the  result  of  sin  or 
of  crime.  I  cannot  in  the  brief  time  allotted  to  me  enter  into 
an  analysis  of  the  situation.  You  must  draw  your  own  conclu- 
sions. But  there  are  today  in  the  insane  asylums  and  the  home 
for  feeble  minded  in  the  State  of  California  6162  patients,  whose 
maintenance  costs  the  State  of  California  $1,992,910  annually. 
For  the  support  of  orphans  and'  half  orphans,  the  State  of 
California  is  paying  $502,862  annually.  How  much  of  this  lat- 
ter amount  can  be  traced  to  sin  in  one  form  or  another  I  do 
not  know;  but  I  do  know  that  there  is  one  institution  in  this 
city  in  which  there  are  fifty  illegitimate  children,  scarcely  one  of 
them  over  five  years  of  age,  which  are  carried  in  the  accounts 
of  the  state  as  half  orphans. 

The  City  and  County. 

The  total  expenses  for  the  items  above  indicated  to  the  State 
of  California  as  the  state  government,  are  $3,255,772.55.  The 
taxable  property  of  the  county  of  Los  Angeles  is  almost  one- 
seventh  of  the  entire  taxable  property  of  the  state,  and  the  pro 
rata  of  expense  to  the  county  of  Los  Angeles  of  the  foregoing 
items  is  $465,110.36.  In  addition  to  this,  as  appears  from  the 
auditor's  report  of  the  county  of  Los  Angeles,  the  county  pays 
$128,564.41  for  public  charities;  $20,430.68  expense  of  mainte- 
nance of  \Yhittier  and  Preston  inmates  sent  from  this  county 
to  those  state  institutions;  $19,863.72,  the  expense  of  maintenance 
of  jail:  making  a  total  of  $169.150.81.  If  we  add  the  expense  of 
maintaining  the  sheriff's  office,  it  brings  the  total  up  to  $190,- 
341.64.  If  to  that  we  add  the  pro  rata  of  the  state  expenses  al- 
ready referred  to.  we  find  that  the  county  of  Los  Angeles  is  ex- 
pending annually  for  the  purpose  indicated  $655,452.  Los  An- 
geles city  contains  about  58.2  per  cent  of  the  taxable  property 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  245 


within  the  county  of  Los  Angeles,  and  the  pro  rata  of  the  county 
expense  paid  by  the  city  of  Los  Angeles  is  $381.473.  Los  An- 
geles city  in  addition  to  this  pro  rata  expends  $192,167.79  for  the 
maintenance  of  its  police  force;  $3,527.68  for  the  maintenance  of 
the  receiving  hospital;  $650.00  for  maintenance  of  free  labor 
bureau  ;  $4,030.87  charity  ;  $6,234.70  for  maintenance  of  jail ;  mak- 
ing a  total  of  $206,620.08  for  these  expenses.  This,  added  to  the 
pro  rata  of  state  and  county  expense,  makes  the  total  amount 
payable  by  the  city  $588,093.14.  It  will  be  observed  that  in  this 
computation  many  elements  of  expense  have  not  been  included. 
The  expense  of  maintenance  of  the  judicial  system  of  the  state 
has  not  been  touched  upon,  including  as  it  does  the  salaries  of 
judges,  clerks,  jurors,  witnesses,  and  while  the  figures  them- 
selves are  taken  from  authentic  sources,  i.  e.,  the  statute  making 
the  appropriations  for  state  institutions,  the  message  of  the  gov- 
ernor, the  reports  of  the  county  and  city  auditors,  it  is  not 
thought  that  they  are  absolutely  accurate. 

The  capital  of  one  Los  Angeles  bank  pays  $5,000  per  month 
tax  to  maintain  prisons,  insane  asylums,  etc. 

We  are  so  used  to  talking  about  billion-dollar  congress  and 
an  expenditure  of  vast  sums  of  money  by  the  national  govern- 
ment that  we  may  not  properly  appreciate  what  it  means  for  the 
city  of  Los  Angeles  to  pay  the  sum  of  $588,093.14  annually  for 
the  purposes  indicated.  The  property  valuation  for  the  city  of 
Los  Angeles  at  the  time  of  this  last  assessment  was  $117,363,605. 
Hence  it  follows  that  the  sum  indicated  requires  a  tax  levy  of 
fifty  cents  on  each  one  hundred  dollars  upon  the  assessed  valua- 
tion of  the  property  in  the  city.  To  bring  this  a  little  nearer 
home,  it  means  that  if  the  Nadeau  Hotel  is  assessed  for  $300.000 
the  owner  of  that  hotel  pays  $1500  annually  for  the  purposes  in- 
dicated, or  $125  per  month.  This  burden  upon  that  piece  of  real 
estate  is  equivalent  to  the  interest  upon  a  mortgage  bearing  four 
per  cent  gross  of  $37,500.  Another  illustration  :  It  is  advertised 
that  the  Security  Savings  Hank  of  this  city  has  assets  amounting 
to  $12,000,000.  The  tax  upon  this  sum  (though  of  course  not  all 
paid  by  the  bank)  at  fifty  cents  on  each  one  hundred  dollars 
amounts  to  $60,000  a  year,  or  five  thousand  dollars  a  month. 
To  pay  this  interest  would  require  an  investment  ot  one  and  a 
quarter  million. dollars  bearing  four  per  cent  net. 

The  Nation. 

While  I  have  neither  had  time  to  investigate  nor  have  1  time 
now  to  state  had  1  investigated  the  cost  of  MII  to  the  national 
government,  I  do  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  one  item  oi  ex- 


248  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

see  the  day  when,  with  ten  times  the  population  we  now  have, 
we  will  have  only  half  the  number  of  convicts  and  insane. 

Adult  Probation. 

The  probation  officers,  too,  must  look  after  adult  probation- 
ers. We  have  about  200  adults  now  on  probation  in  Los  An- 
geles county.  What  would  they  cost  the  state  if  in  the  state's 
prison?  About  $6000  per  mouth! 

Approximate. 

These  estimates  are  approximate,  but  make  it  clear,  it  seems 
to  me,  that  we  must  take  a  long  step  forward  along  lines  already 
so  successfully  in  operation. 

CURTIS  D.  WILBUR. 
Los  Angeles,  January  21,  1909. 


JUVENILE  COURT,  LOS  ANGELES  COUNTY 

Report  from  May,  1903,  to  December,  1908: 

New  cases — Boys 1021 

New  cases — Girls   .  238 


Total 1259 

Boys. 

On  probation  at  home  405 

On  probation  in  institutions 25 

Sent  to  Whittier   175 

Sent  to  lone   15 

Cases  dismissed 173 

Left  the  jurisdiction  of  court 133 

Sent  to  friends 65 

Sent  to  George  Junior  Republic 14 

Sent  to  Watsonville   5 

Golden  Gate  Orphanage    1 

Deceased  .  .  10 


1021 

Voluntary  probation   56 

Police  Court  cases  (2  years  only — '07-'08) 126 

On  Probation. 

Total  number  on  probation — I>oys 612 

Total  number  on  probation — Girls 124 


Grand  Total    .  .    736 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  249 


Girls. 

On  probation  at  home  ., 84 

On  probation  in  institutions 22 

Cases  dismissed 62 

Sent  to  Whittier 31 

Sent  to  friends  15 

Sent  to  Golden  Gate  Orphanage 2 

Sent  to  Glenn  Ellen   

Left  the  jurisdiction  of  Court 16 

Deceased  . 


238 

Voluntary  probation 18 

Total  number  on  probation — Girls 124 


Ages. 

4  months 1 

5  "           1 

1  year   8 

2  years   6 

3  "      8 

4  "      8 

5  "      8 

6  "      18 

7  "      lf> 

8  "      36 

9  "      48 

10  "  (>8 

11  "  110 

12  "  124 

13  "  170 

660 

14  "      227 

15  "      220 

447 

16  "      105 

17  "      47 

152 

125(' 


250  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

REPORT  FOR  YEAR  1904 
Juvenile  Court,  Los  Angeles  County. 

First  Quarter. 
Boys 

On  parole    24 

Sent   to    Wliiltier    7 

Returned  to  friends    6 

Dismissed  1  3cS 


Girls 

On  parole    3 

Sent  to  Whittier   .  4  7  45 


Second  Quarter. 
Boys 

On  parole    37 

Sent  to  Whittier   4 

Returned  to  home   8 

Dismissed  .  .      5  54 


Girls 

On  parole    3 

Sent  to  Whittier   0 

Returned  to  home 1 

Dismissed  1  5 


Third  Quarter  to  Sept.   16th. 
Boys 

On  parole    40 

Sent  to  Whittier   1 

Dismissed  ....      0  41 


Girls 

On  parole    5 

Sent  to  Whittier    0 

Dismissed  5  10  51 


Fourth  Quarter. 
Boys 

( )n  parole    4r>     • 

Sent  to  Whittier    4 

Returned  to  home   3 

Dismissed  1  53 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  2ol 


Girls 

On  parole    7 

Sent  to  Whitier 0 

Returned   home    .  9  62 


Total  number  of  children  arraigned 216 

Number  of  hearings  additional    584 


800 
Offenses  Charged. 

Burglary    30 

Larceny    55 

Rape    7 

Incorrigible    62 

Tramps    19 

Dependent  27 

Truant  8 

Arson  8    216 


Parental  Condition. 

Both  parents  living 86 

Mother  living 42 

Father   living    32 

Full   orphans    28 

Parents  separated    28         216 


Ages  of  Children. 

Years  No. 

4    1 

6    6 

7    3 

8    2 

9    8 

10    11 

11     13 

12    28 

13    26 

14    40 

15    65 

16    () 

17    4        2H> 

Recapitulation. 

Total  number  of  cases  in  1904.  .  .  21f> 

Boys    185 

Girls  ...   31         21( 


252  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

Paroled 

]>oys    146 

Girls    21 

Sent  to  Whittier 

Boys    16 

Girls    5 

Returned  to  homes 15 

Dismissed    13         216 

Respectfully  submitted, 
A.  C.  DODDS,  Chief  Probation  Officer. 


FOR  REPORT  OF  1905  SEE  PAGE  128 


ANNUAL  REPORT  OF  JUVENILE  COURT,   1908. 

New   Cases    240 

Hoys    182 

Girls    58 

New  Cases    240 

Old  Cases  on  New  Charges 185 

Continued   Cases    236 

Special  ( )rders    271 

Personal  Reports  to  Court   151 


Total  Cases  Presented   1083 

Dependent  Cases   123 

Delinquent   Cases    117 


240 

Total   No.  T  Tomes   Found    117 

Voluntary   Probation    62 

"      Police  Court  Probation    108 

"      HOYS  and  Girls  Probation  at  home.  .  .  .602 


Grand  Total  on   Probation    772 

BOYS. 

Disposition  of  Cases. 

1908  Previous             Total 
Year 

Whittier 7  22                   29 

lone 2  2                     4 

McKinley    I  Ionic    1 

Mrs.   Strickland    7  5                     12 

Newsboys'    I  lome    3  2                      5 

George  Jr.  Republic    4  10                    14 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


Mrs.  Linton   5                    4                    9 

Watsonville    3 

St.  Catherine's  School 1 

Guardian  Angel    1                      1 

Sent  to  Friends   5 

No  Hearing 3 

Golden  Gate  Orphanage 0                     1 

Dismissed    12 

Probation  at  Home  .  .  125 


182 

Homes  Found 16  27  43 

Total  on  Probation   173  330  503 

Voluntary  Probation    44 

Police  Court   108 

Total  on  Probation   655 

GIRLS. 
Disposition  of  Cases. 

1908  Previous  Total 

Year 

\Yhittier 5  10 

L.  A.  Orphans'  Home 1 

Guardian  Angel    1 

Ransome  Home   3 

Children's   Home   Society...  1 

Truelove  Home    2 

Door  of  Hope 6 

Pisgah  Rescue  Home 5 

Good    Shepherd    3 

Golden  Gate  Orphanage  ....  1 

Dismissed    6 

Sent  to  Friends    2 

Xo  Hearing 2 

Probation  at  Home    20 


58 

I  lomes  Found 27 

Total  on  Probation   53 

Voluntary    Probation    18 

Total  on  Probation   117 


254  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


PARENTAL  CONDITIONS. 

Both  Parents  living 102  Mother  Immoral  9 

Mother  dead  30  Desertions  12 

Father  dead 28  Depravity  7 

Full  Orphans  6  Drinkers  9 

Parents  Separated 20  Father  ex-convict  1 

divorced  12  convict  1 

Mother  re-married 23      Mother  insane 2 

Father  12 

Parents   unknown    6 

Illegitimate    1 


240 
OFFENSES— 1908. 

Incorrigibility    72  Robbery   1 

Misdemeanors   67  Indecent  conduct   2 

Dependents   50  At  son    2 

Burglary   55  Battery 2 

Truancy    12  Forgery   1 

Violation   of    Parole 17  Embezzlement   1 

Grand  Larceny 9 

Vagrancy  12  303 

IN  COURT  ON 

1  charge  193   4  charges  3 

2  charges  34 

3  charges 10  240 

AGES. 

5  Mos 1  10  "        22 

1  Year    3  11  "         28 

2  Years    2  12  "         24 

3  "        0  13  "         20 

4  "         1  14  "         44 

5  "        2  15  "        45 

6  "        4  16  "        15 

7  "        2  17  "        15 

8  "         4 

9  Years    8  240 

REPORTS. 

By  mail    32 

To  special   Probation  (  )fficers 42 

Excused  from  reports  on  good  conduct 73 

All  others  report  in  person  or  by  visits  of  Probation  Officers. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  255 


MEDICAL  REPORT. 

1908  Old  Cases 

Medical  Examinations    167  48 

Operations    34  18 

Total  Medical  Examinations 215 

Operations 52 


REPORT  OF  JUVENILE  COURT  OF  LOS  ANGELES  COUNTY. 

From  Jan  nary  1st,  1909,  to  July  1st,  1909. 
New  Cases : 

Roys    210 

Girls    .  87 


Total 297 

Boys  Girls  Total 

Dependent  Cases 59  85  144 

Delinquent  Cases   151  2  153 


210  87  297 

New  Cases    297 

Old  Cases  on  New  Charges 125 

Continued  Cases   170 

Personal  Reports  to  Court 106 

Special  Orders    249 


Total  Cases  Presented 947 

DISPOSITION    OF   CASES— GIRLS. 

Whittier  State  School 4 

Pisgah  Ark   3 

Truelove  Home    7 

Door  of  Hope 4 

George  Junior   Republic 1 

Sent   to   Friends 4 

Italians  Sisters'  Home 2 

Sacred  Heart  School 2 

Guardian  Angel  Home 4 

Children's   Home   Society 1 

I  Joys'  and  Girls'  Aid  Society 2 

Convent  of  the  Good  Shepherd 1 

Dismissed    3 

Probation    at    Home 49 

87 


250  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


DISPOSITION    OF    CASES— BOYS. 

Whittier    8 

lone   2 

Mrs.  Strickland's   4 

George  Junior   Republic 5 

Watsonville 3 

Sent  to  Friends 2 

1  )ismisscd    11 

Parental  School    12 

Newsboys'  Home    1 

Guardian  Angel    2 

Probation  at  Home..  .160 


210 


OFFENSES. 

Incorrigibility    59 

Misdemeanor    72 

Dependent    75 

Burglary    57 

Truancy    10 

Grand   Larceny    8 

Vagrancy      1 

Robbery   3 

Indecent   Conduct    1 

Seduction  I'nder  Promise  of  Marriage 1 

Assault    5 

Forgery    4 

Rape    11 

Cruelty   1 

Violation  of  I  'arole   1 

Tobacco  Habit    ,1 


310 


In  court  on 

1  Charge 285 

2  Charges 11 

3  Charges 1 

297 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  257 

AGES. 

Boys.  Girls. 

1  Year   2  1  Year    2 

2  Years    0  2  Years    2 

3  "        4  3  "  .   0 

4  "        2  4  "  .    1 

5  "        0  5  "        6 

6  "        5  6  "        0 

7  "       4  7  "        0 

8  "        5  8  "        5 

9  "       5  9  "        3 

10  "        7  10  "        3 

11  "        7  11  "        4 

12  "        20  12  "        7 

13  "        16  13  "       7 

14  "        31  14  "        12 

15  "        3Q  15  "        5 

16  "        36  16  "        17 

17  "        33  17  "        12 

18  "                                 ,3  18  "  .  .1 


210  87 


"Do  not  wait  for  extraordinary  circumstances  to  do  good  ; 
try  to  use  ordinary  situations." — Richtcr. 

"Every  heart  that  has  beat  strong  and  cheerfully  has  left 
a  hopeful  impulse  behind  it  in  the  world,  and  bettered  the  tra- 
dition of  mankind."' — R.  L.  S. 

"The  ill-timed  truth  we  might  have  kept — 

Who  knows  how  sharp  it  pierced  and  stung 
The  word  we  had  not  sense  to  say— 

Who  knows  how  grandly  it  had  rung!" 

— Edward  Rowland  Sill. 

Wanted,  a  man  who  is  larger  than  his  calling,  who  considers 
it  a  low  estimate  of  his  occupation  to  value  it  merely  as  a  means 
of  getting  a  living." — O.  S.  Harden. 

"Responsibility  gravitates  to  the  man  who  knows  how." 

No  star  is  ever  lost  we  once  have  seen. 
We  always  may  be  what  we  might  have  been." 
"Words  unspoken  fall  back  dead. 
But  God  Himself  cannot  kill  them 
When  they're  said." 

—  laneta    E.    llolgale. 


258  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

A  CORRECT  NEWSPAPER  REPORT 
Concerning  the  Probation  Work  Under  A.  C.  Dodds  on  Dec.  1,  1910: 

He  has  had  under  his  supervision  2508  juvenile  probationers 
and  nearly  700  adults. 

At  the  present  time  he  is  keeping  watch  of  154  adults  who 
have  been  released  on  probation  in  the  various  departments  of 
the  superior  courts  after  the  acknowledgment  of  serious  offenses. 

His  present  list  of  juveniles  includes  713  boys  and  202  girls, 
about  600  of  the  number  being  active  probationers,  and  the  others, 
while  technically  wards  of  the  court  during  their  minority,  have 
because  of  good  conduct  been  relieved  of  the  necessity  of  making 
reports  to  the  probation  officers. 

TOOK  CHARGE  DEC.  1,  1903 

Captain  Dodds  took  charge  of  the  probation  work  here  De- 
cember 1,  1903,  after  five  years'  experience  in  the  same  line  in 
Chicago.  At  that  time  his  duties  were  confined  to  juveniles, 
there  being  no  provision  in  law  then  for  the  supervision  of  adult 
probationers  by  a  regular  officer.  Special  probation  officers  were 
usually  appointed  then  in  each  adult  case,  a  friend  of  the  person 
released  on  probation  generally  being  placed  in  charge  of  the 
delinquent. 

The  system  was  unsatisfactory  and  in  1905,  through  the  in- 
strumentality of  Judge  'Wilbur  of  the  juvenile  court,  the  state 
probation  law  was  amended  so  as  to  give  the  charge  of  adult 
probationers  into  the  hands  of  the  county  probation  officer. 

From  that  time  Captain  Dodds  took  juvenile  and  adult 
branches  of  the  work,  which  has  multiplied  in  volume  several 
times  in  the  past  five  years. 

FIRM  BELIEVER  IN  SYSTEM. 

The  greatest  number  of  adult  probationers  under  his  care 
was  a  year  ago,  when  he  reported  189,  about  35  more  than  at  the 
present  time.  Some  of  those  still  under  his  supervision  were 
released  on  probation  as  long  ago  as  when  the  late  Judge  Smith 
presided  over  the  criminal  court. 

Captain  Dodds  is  a  firm  believer  in  the  value  of  the  proba- 
tion system  to  make  good  citizens  out  of  wayward  men. 

His  records  show  that  of  the  more  than  600  released  on  pro- 
bation in  five  years  past  less  than  15  per  cent  have  failed  to  take 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  259 

advantage  of  the  clemency  extended  them.  About  X  per  cent 
have  violated  the  terms  of  their  parole  and  have  been  haled  back 
in  court  to  be  sent  to  prison.  About  an  equal  number  have 
"skipped  the  country"  at  the  first  favorable  opportunity  after 
their  release  on  probation.  Some  of  these  have  been  captured 
in  different  places  and  returned  for  sentence. 

STICKS  AFTER  SIX  MONTHS 

"If  a  man  is  going  to  ^a^  down  while  on  probation  he  will 
do  it  in  the  first  six  months,  usually,"  said  Captain  Dodds  today. 
"If  he  lasts  past  that  time  he  generally  sticks.  Jt  is  my  observa- 
tion that  a  probationer  who  fails  when  he  is  given  his  first  chance 
will  fail  if  he  is  given  a  second  or  third  opportunity. 

"Of  the  men  who  skip  out  the  greatest  number  are  those 
who  are  classed  as  'floaters,'  who  drift  into  town  and  commit 
some  slight  crime  and  who  have  no  fixed  place  of  abode  to  tie 
them  down  here.  "When  such  are  released  on  probation  it  fre- 
quently happens  that  they  take  the  first  opportunity  to  get  out 
of  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court. 

"\Yhere  probation  is  extended  with  wise  discrimination, 
such  as  has  been  used  in  our  courts  here,  there  is  no  question  as 
to  its  value  in  making  good  citizens  and  allowing  men  to  retain 
their  self-respect,  instead  of  subjecting  them  to  the  disgrace  of  a 
prison  term." 

TURNS  OUT  GOOD  CITIZENS. 

Making  allowance  for  the  backsliders,  the  probation  system 
in  five  years  in  I,os  Angeles  count}'  has  been  the  means  ol  making 
good  citizens  out  of  about  500  men. 

The  system  of  juvenile  probation  keeps  the  probationers 
under  the  care  of  the  court  during  their  minority.  At  first  they 
are  required  to  make  reports  weeklv.  Gradually  the  time  is  ex- 
tended upon  good  behavior  until  the  reports  are  dropped  alto- 
gether, but  the  probationers  are  encouraged  to  keep  in  touch 
with  the  officers  and  report  progress.  In  addition  to  the  _7.HK) 
children  who  have  come  under  the  care  of  the  court  in  seven 
years  there  have  been  500  voluntarv  probationers,  placed  in  care 
of  the  officers  by  parents,  without  the  formal  court  proceeding. 

The  probation  work  has  grown  to  such  an  extent  that  six 
assistants  are  now  required  to  care  for  all  the  details. —  I  he 
Express. 


260  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

MEMORANDUM  REPORT,  DEC.,  1911. 

Number  of  active  probationers  at  the  present  time : 
Adult  225  Regular. 

120  Failure  to  provide. 
16  Police  Court. 

361  Total  being  looked  after  by  probation  officer. 
Number  of  active  probationers  at  the  present  time,  juvenile,  1,434. 
Total  number  of  probationers,  both  adult  and  juveniles,  being 

cared  for,  1,795. 

Total  number  of  adult  cases  dismissed,  revoked,  etc.,  89. 
Total  number  of  juvenile  cases  excused  and  dismissed  during 

year,  237. 

Total  number  of  new  cases. 
Juvenile      1,021 
Adult  142 

Boys  and  Girls  committed  to  the  Whittier  State  School  from 
Los  Angeles  County,  Hon.  Curtis  I).  Wilbur's  Court. 

5  Girls 

8        " 
2 
5 
6 

10       " 
8 

5       " 
3       " 

Girls 
Total   No.   Received.. 296  Boys  52  Girls 

March  9,  1912. 

To  the  Honorable  Curtis  D.  Wilbur, 
Judge  of  the  Juvenile  Court, 

Los  Angeles  County,  Cal. 
Dear  Sir : — 

I    herewith    hand    you    the    data    concerning   the    Detention 
Home  and  the  Parental  Home  as  requested: 

Children  in  the  Detention  Home  from  Jan.  1,  1911,  to  Jan. 
1,  1912:     Boys,  865;  girls,  144;  total.  1009. 

Total  number  of  children  in   Detention  Home  School  from 
Tan.  1,  1911  to  Jan.  1,  1912:    Hoys  and  girls,  481. 

Children  in   the   Parental   Home   from    Tan.   1,   1911   to  Jan. 
1,  1912,  91.  Respectfully, 

HUGH  C.  GIBSON, 
Chief  Probation  Officer. 


1903  

22  Boys 

1904  

25   " 

1905  

36  " 

1906  

36  " 

1907  

35  " 

1908  

31   " 

1909  

55  " 

1910  

42  " 

1911  

14  " 

Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  261 


1912 

COMPARATIVE  ANNUAL   EXPENSE   FOR   SALARIES   CARING 

FOR  JUVENILES  AND  ADULTS  IN  CUSTODY  AND 

ON  PROBATION. 

Total  number  of  employees  in  Preston  School  of  Industry,  65— 

number  of  inmates  about  450. 
Total  amount  of  money  paid  out  in  salaries  yearly  in   Preston 

School  of  Industry,  $53,430.00. 
Total  number  of  employees   in  Whittier   State   Reform   School, 

62 — number  of  inmates  about  200. 
Total  amount  of  money  paid  out  in  salaries  in  Whittier  State 

Reform  School,  $51,840.00. 
Total  number  of  employees  in  San  Ouentin  Prison,   109 — about 

1800  inmates. 
Total   amount   of   money   paid   out   in   salaries    in    San   Ouentin 

Prison,  $105,660.00. 
Total  number  of  employees  in  Folsom  Prison,  93 — about  1100 

inmates. 
Total  amount  of  money  paid  out  in  salaries  in  Folsom   Prison, 

$88,040.00. 
Total  number  of  probationers  on  probation,  adult  and  juvenile, 

in  Los  Angeles  County,  1795. 
Probation  officers  now  20  (previously  7)  ;  salaries,  $23,100. 

JUVENILE  HALL. 
(Dentention  Home.) 

"The  probation  committee  shall  also  have  the  control  and 
management  of  the  internal  affairs  of  any  detention  home  hereto- 
fore or  hereafter  established  by  the  board  of  supervisors  of  their 
county;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board  of  supervisors  to 
provide  for  the  payment  of  such  employees  as  may  be  needed  in 
the  efficient  management  of  such  detention  home." — Sec  8. 

"Such  detention  home  must  not  be  in  or  connected  with,  any 
jail  or  prison,  and  shall  be  conducted  in  all  respects  as  nearly 
like  a  home  as  possible  and  shall  not  be  deemed  to  be  or  treated 
as  a  penal  institution.  Such  legislative  body  must  also  provide 
for  a  suitable  superintendent  and  matron  to  have  charge  ot  such 
dentention  home,  and  for  such  other  employees  as  may  be  needed 
in  the  efficient  management  of  such  detention  home,  and  provide 
for  the  payment,  out  of  the  general  fund  ot  the  count}',  or  city 
and  county,  of  suitable  salaries  for  such  superintendent  and 
matron,  and  such  other  employees,  such  superintendent,  matron 
and  other  employees  to  be  appointed  by  said  legislative  body, 
upon  the  nomination  of  the  probation  committee  and  approval 


262  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

of  the  judge  of  the  juvenile  court.  The  superintendent,  matron 
or  other  employee  for  such  detention  home  may,  at  any  time,  be 
removed  by  the  probation  committee  in  its  discretion." — Sec.  26. 
"Man  is  man's  burden,"  was  the  conclusion  of  a  philosopher 
of  old,  and  to  one  engaged  in  juvenile  court  work,  this  seems 
correct. 

Every  man  is  a  burden  who  has  caused  darkness,  or  allowed 
it  to  continue  to  exist ;  as  well  as  that  man  who  has  sinned  in 
consequence  of  darkness.  Who  is  the  more  to  blame  is  your 
question ;  the  juvenile  court  deals  with  the  victim. 

At  a  cost  of  about  $80,000.00  the  County  Board  of  Super- 
visors erected  on  Eastlake  avenue  a  110  room  juvenile  hall.  The 
building  itself  is  modern  and  up  to  date  in  every  detail.  Nine- 
teen of  the  65  sleeping  apartments  to  open  upon  a  patio  135  feet 
by  97  feet  in  size.  The  staff  is  furnished  with  good  offices  and 
apartments  in  the  front  of  the  main  building.  Library,  parlors, 
shower  rooms,  4  school  rooms,  4  dining  rooms,  kitchen  and  baths 
are  provided ;  while  a  plunge,  nursery,  hospital  room,  and  a  laun- 
dry, fully  equipped,  complete  the  building. 

Between  3  and  4  acres  of  ground  surround  the  building, 
which  will  be  used  for  a  garden  and  an  athletic  field.  We  believe 
in  keeping  busy. 

The  janitor  and  laundry  work  of  the  entire  building  is  being 
done  by  the  boys,  while  the  cooking,  mending  and  dish  washing 
is  in  charge  of  the  girls  under  the  supervision  of  one  experienced 
cook. 

The  County  Hospital  joins  this  property,  making  it  very 
convenient  and  easy  to  secure  prompt  and  efficient  medical  aid. 

The  school  is  entirely  in  charge  of  the  City  Board  of  Edu- 
cation, who  plan  that  it  shall  meet  the  immediate  needs  of  these 
boys  and  girls.  A  complete  physical  examination  is  given  all 
who  enter.  From  9  to  12  the  regular  ungraded  academic  work 
is  the  order  of  the  day.  From  1  until  4  the  pupils  will  be  en- 
gaged in  manual  branches;  gardening,  sewing  and  cooking.  The 
applied  work  will  include  cartooning,  basket  weaving,  clay 
modeling,  art  leather  and  brass;  all  branches  of  the  work  shop, 
with  one  course  in  iron. 

The  supervised  athletics  will  occupy  the  hour  from  5  to  6 
while  a  continuation  school  will  be  in  session  from  7  to  8.  All 
the  branches  of  a  good  commercial  course  \vill  be  added  a  little 
later. 

Girls  will  have  instruction  in  all  branches  of  home  economics. 
This  efficient  help  on  the  part  of  the  City  Board  of  Education 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  263 

will  enable  almost  every  boy  and  girl  to  find  his  right  and  useful 
place  in  this  city. 

At  the  close  of  the  first  week  47  boys  and  5  girls  were  en- 
rolled. The  highest  attendance  was  53  boys  and  17  girls.  With 
a  genius  for  this  sort  of  work  and  a  good  training  in  the  past, 
the  Superintendent  and  Matron,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E.  S.  Eby,  sec- 
onded by  their  assistants,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Libby,  are  making 
Juvenile  Hall  not  alone  a  home  for  the  boys  and  girls,  but  a  step- 
ping stone  to  a  life  of  usefulness. 

We  expect  the  charitable  interpretation  of  our  city  news- 
papers as  all,  in  a  forgetfulness  of  his  past  shortcomings,  try  to 
find  what  each  lad  is  good  for. 

We  ask  the  co-operation  of  a  socialized  police  force — one 
to  whom  the  vision  of  the  crime  does  not  rise  above  the  neglect 
and  temptation  of  the  boy;  for  he  only  can  judge  a  crime  who 
can  first  weigh  a  temptation. 

We  bespeak  the  confidence  of  a  broad  and  fair  minded  pub- 
lic in  an  earnest  effort  to  help  and  cure  the  young. 

The  Juvenile  Hall,  or  detention  home  as  it  is  called  in  the 
statute,  is  used  for  the  temporary  custody  of  all  children  tinder 
sixteen  years  of  age,  and  of  all  girls  (except  in  special  cases)  de- 
tained awaiting  trial  in  the  juvenile  court.  Tt  is  also  used  in 
special  cases  for  older  boys.  Provision  is  made  for  the  separation 
of  the  different  classes  dependent  and  delinquent.  There  is  a 
special  dormitory  for  babies  and  small  children,  and  special  din- 
ing room.  Each  child  at  the  juvenile  hall  has  a  separate  room. 

The  aim  in  the  case  of  each  child  is  to  find  out  all  that  can 
be  ascertained  that  will  aid  in  the  final  disposition  of  the  case,  to 
provide  a  temporary  home  for  those  awaiting  a  more  permanent 
home,  or  to  be  transported  to  a  distant  place.  To  make  every 
moment  and  every  influence  count  for  permanent  good.  To  bring 
them  in  intimate  contact  with  officers  and  attaches  ot  the  high- 
est type  of.  manhood  and  womanhood,  all  to  the  end  of  finding 
and  emphasizing  all  the  good  points  in  the  child,  and  sending 
him  on  a  new  way  with  new  determination  for  good. 

MRvS.  J.  TT.  FUAXCIS. 
Chairman  of  Tuvenile  Hall  Committee. 


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Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  2<55 


Probation  Officers  Personal  Impressions 

To  one  who  has  a  natural  love  for  children,  the  dumb  sub- 
mission of  the  homeless,  fatherless,  motherless,  or  abandoned 
little  ones  who  pass  from  humane  office  to  court,  from  court  to 
probation  office,  from  nurse  to  nurse,  from  "home"  to  institutions 
without  a  word  of  protest,  but  with  such  an  appealing1  look  of 
question  in  their  wistful  little  eyes — stirs  one's  soul  to  its  depths. 

MISS  ELOISE  FORMAN. 

In  placing  protection  and  provision  about  the  helpless  and 
needy,  in  providing  instruction  and  correction  for  the  wayward 
and  heedless,  in  showing  mercy  and  justice  to  those  who  have 
become  transgressors  of  the  law,  the  juvenile  court  work  is 
worthy  the  co-operation  and  support  of  every  worthy  citizen. 

MRS.  NORVEL. 

A  man  is  no  better  than  he  wants  to  be. 

I  find  that  there  is  little  to  be  gained  in  struggling  to  force 
a  boy  into  doing  right,  and  best  results  are  obtained  in  trying 
to  create  in  him  a  desire  for  right  living.  lie  needs  constant  en- 
couragement and  sometimes  a  reprimand.  l>e  his  friend  not 
only  in  words  but  also  in  attitude  and  deeds.  Visit  the  parents 
who  too  often  need  to  be  advised  as  well  as  the  child.  Help  the 
father  to  make  the  boy  his  companion  and  treat  him  as  such 
rather  than  his  property  or  slave. 

Our  failures  in  this  work  are  many  but  one  success  is  great 
enough  reward  for  renewed  and  increased  efforts. 

MR.  J.   II.   LIB  BY. 


"The  hands  that  help  are  better  than  the  lips  that  pray."- 
Mrs.  Darling. 

"I  am  in  the  world  not  only  to  do  all.  the  good  I  can,  but 
to  prevent  all  the  evil  I  can." — Wm.  Knibb. 

"Remember  that  the  reward  which  life  holds  out  for  work 
is  not  idleness,  nor  rest,  nor  immunity  from  work,  but  increased 
capacity,  greater  difficulties — more  work. — K.  Hubbard. 

"Not  what  we  give,  but  what  we  share, 
For  the  gift  without  the  giver  is  bare; 
Who  gives  himself  with  his  alms  feeds  three. 
Himself,  his  hungering  neighbor  and   Me." 

—  (ames    Russell    Lowell. 


IN  THE  SUPERIOR  COURT  OF  THE  STATE  OF  CALI- 
FORNIA, IN  AND  FOR  THE  COUNTY  OF  LOS  ANGELES. 

Dept.  8.  Curtis  D.  Wilbur,  Judge. 

In  the  Matter  of  Nominating  Probation  Officers. 

Curtis  D.  Wilbur  having  been  heretofore  selected  by  the 
Judges  of  the  Superior  Court  in  and  for  said  County  of  Los 
Angeles,  State  of  California,  as  the  Judge  to  hear  cases  under 
the  law  approved  March  8,  1909,  known  as  the  Juvenile  Court 
Law,  and  having  heretofore  appointed  a  Probation  Committee 
composed  of  seven  citizens,  and  Section  13  of  said  law  provid- 
ing that  said  Judge  shall  appoint  Probation  Officers  after  the 
same  shall  have  been  nominated  in  such  manner  as  the  Judge 
of  the  Juvenile  Court  shall  direct : 

It  is  hereby  ordered  that  such  nominations  be  made  by  said 
Probation  Committee  forthwith  and  be  reported  to  said  Judge 
and  thereupon,  if  acceptable  to  him,  said  parties  so  nominated 
and  recommended  will  be  appointed. 

CURTIS  D.  WILBUR, 

Judge  of  the  said  Superior  Court, 
Elected  as  Judge  of  the  Juvenile 
Court  of  said  County. 


Remember,  when  a  boy  who  has  previously  been  obedient 
and  all  right,  becomes  irritable,  stubborn  and  mean  there  is  always 
a  physical  reason. 

Remember  a  bov  improves  onlv  by  his  self  activity  and  his 
out  of  politics;  that  does  not  mean  that  it  is  safe  or  sane  to  saw 
greatest  moral  teacher  is  a  good  example. 


Does    the  Correction  of  Physical  De- 
fects of  Juvenile  Criminals  Improve 
Their  Moral  Conduct? 


A    Preliminary    Report    of    Some    of  the    Medical    Work 
Done  in  the  Juvenile  Court  of  Los  Angeles  County 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  269 

April  11,  1911. 
To  Hon.  Curtis  D.  Wilbur, 

Judge  of  the  Juvenile  Court. 

Dear  Judge : 

You  have  asked  me  to  write  you  relative  to  what  has  been 
done  and  what  is  to  be  done  in  the  medical  way  in  the  Juvenile 
Court,  and  the  importance  of  the  same. 

A  good  deal  of  that  which  has  already  been  done,  you  are 
familiar  with,  and  know  that  we  not  only  lead  in  the  State,  but 
with  perhaps  one  exception,  every  city  in  the  United  States. 
Several  hundred  boys  have  been  examined  and  a  record  made  of 
each.  In  a  large  per  cent  of  these,  a  defect  either  physical  or 
functional  has  been  found  which  no  doubt  has  contributed  to  the 
delinquency. 

Recommendations  have  been  made,  and  advice  given  the 
parents  for  the  elimination  of  the  trouble.  Together  with  the 
physical  examination  we  take  in  consideration  family  history, 
pre-natal  influence,  environment,  previous  illness,  contagious 
diseases,  injury,  especially  the  head,  stigmata  of  degeneration, 
vicious  habits  and  other  data  which  may  have  a  bearing  on  the 
case. 

For  one  not  familiar  with  the  work,  a  good  idea  of  at  least 
part  of  our  endeavor,  may  be  obtained  by  reading  the  following 
articles  which  I  have  written  ; 

(1)  Does  The   Correction  of   Physical   Defects  of  Juvenile 
Criminals  Improve  Their  Moral  Conduct?     Read  and  discussed 
before  the  Southern  California  Medical  Society  in  December  and 
published    January    number    of    the    Southern    California    Prac- 
titioner. 

(2)  Does  the  Abnormal  Condition  of  the  Teeth  Contribute 
to  Juvenile  Delinquency?     Read   and  discussed   before  the    LOS 
Angeles   County    Dental    Society   and    published    in    the    Pacific 
Dental  Gazette  of  February. 

(3)  The  ATedical  Side  of  Juvenile  Court  Work  in  Los  An- 
geles County;  Its  Importance  and   Necessity.     System  in  Other 
Places  and  the  Ideal  System  for  This  State.     Read  and  discussed 
before   the    California    State    League    of    Municipalities    in    joint 
session  with  State  Health  Officers'  Conference  at  San   Diego  and 
published  in  the  December  number  of  the  California  State  Hoard 
of  Health  Bulletin. 

What  is  to  be  done?  Continue  along  the  lines  we  have 
already  begun,  with  advice  to  the  court,  parents  and  children — 
with  more  correlated  data.  See  that  physical  delects  are  cor- 
rected. This  is  nearly  always  followed  by  good  results,  especially 


270  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


when  done  before  puberty.  Special  time  should  be  set  aside  for 
this  work  and  cases  followed  up.  In  Chicago  there  is  a  paid 
officer  whose  only  duty  is  to  see  that  each  child  receives  the  medi- 
cal attention  advised. 

Parents  should  be  instructed  in  person  or  by  pamphlets 
concerning  vicious  habits,  diet,  perversion  and  causes  of  irritabil- 
ity in  children.  A  course  of  employment  should  be  mapped 
out  which  from  a  psychological  point  of  view  will  tend  to  elimin- 
ate certain  habits,  develope  new  centers,  build  up  the  will  and 
thus  do  away  with  abnormal  tendencies. 

All  delinquents  who  are  poorly  nourished,  physically  or 
mentally  defective,  cigarette  or  other  fiends,  sexual  perverts  and 
all  border  line  cases  should  report  direct  to  a  physican  who  can 
examine  and  advise  from  time  to  time. 

The  medical  side  of  juvenile  court  work  is  fast  becoming 
recognized  as  one  of  the  most  important  phases  of  the  Court  work 
and  each  year  more  and  more.  Judges  are  investigating  and  later 
depending  upon  it.  Remember  we  of  Los  Angeles  County  are 
pioneers  in  this  work  and  have  been  and  still  are  dealing  with  an 
unsolved  problem,  consequently  our  results  are  not  perfect  but 
let  it  be  hoped  that  this  court  will  always  continue  to  be  most 
progressive  and  at  least  hold  her  position  near  the  lead  if  not  in 
the  very  lead. 

Sincerely  yours, 

JOHN  A.  COLLIVER. 


Remember  age  of  puberty  age  of  most  profound  psycholog- 
ical change  in  boys  and  most  susceptible  to  good  and  bad  in- 
fluence. 

Remember  when  instructing  children  to  emphasize  the  truth, 
that  the  keystone  of  character  is  obedience  to  constituted  author- 
ity. Success  never  attends  any  effort  or  enterprise  where  this 
elemen^  is  lacking. 

Remember  that  in  order  to  form  the  minds  of  children,  the 
first  thing  to  be  done  is  to  conquer  the  will;  to  inform  the  mind 
is  a  work  of  time,  and  must,  with  children,  proceed  by  slow  de- 
grees as  they  are  able  to  bear  it;  but  the  subjecting  of  the  will 
must  be  done  at  once,  and  the  sooner  the  better. 


Does  the  Correction  of  Physical  Defects 

of  Juvenile  Criminals  Improve 

Their  Moral  Conduct? 

By  John  Adams  Colliver,   B.A.,  MD. 

Medical  Probation  Officer 
Read  before  the  Southern  California  Medical  Society,  December  2,  I  t)O(j 

The  original  intention  of  this  paper  was  to  give  a  complete 
analysis  of  about  nine  hundred  juvenile  delinquents  examined. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  such  classification  was  made  according  to 
crime,  nativity,  parentage,  home,  mentality,  environment,  dif- 
ferent physical  defects,  including  mal-nutrition,  stigmata,  per- 
verts, fiends,  bad  habits,  etc.  In  addition  to  this,  cross-classifi- 
cation of  each  of  these  was  made  as  to  age,  crime,  parentage, 
habits,  etc. 

From  these  classifications  many  interesting  and  scientific 
facts  were  learned;  but  the  above  data  were  of  such  magnitude, 
and  the  time  so  limited,  that  it  became  apparent  that  a  sub- 
division of  the  subject  must  be  taken,  instead  of  the  whole  thing. 

It  is  our  object  in  the  juvenile  court  work  to  do  all  the  moral 
good  we  can,  so  an  endeavor  was  made  to  choose  a  subdivision 
illustrating  some  phase  of  this  work. 

It  had  been  reported  repeatedly,  during  the  last  five  years, 
by  the  judge  and  probation  officers,  and  it  was  generally  assumed, 
that  good  results  followed  the  correction  of  physical  defects. 
There  were  no  data  to  prove  this,  except  that  the  boys  were  com- 
pelled to  report  \veekly,  bi-weekly  and  monthly,  as  the  case 
might  be,  and  from  these  reports  it  was  thought  that  a  marked 
improvement  followed  many  operations. 

Being  thus  stimulated  by  the  opinion  of  those  who  should 
know,  I  was  led  to  compare  my  work  in  detail  with  the  court 
records  of  each  boy.  Up  to  the  time  this  classification  was  made, 
it  was  known  that  the  boys  improved  physically  and  sometimes 
mentally  after  operations,  but  as  to  the  moral  change,  it  was  not 
clear,  as  there  was  no  positive  evidence. 

The  results  of  this  investigation  demonstrated  that  nearly 
seventy  per  cent  of  the  boys  who  received  attention  showed 
more  or  less  marked  moral  improvement. 

Now,  why  was  this?  It  could  not  be  called  a  coincidence, 
nor  a  psychical  effect. 


272 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


A  classification  of  all  the  boys  by  age  revealed  the  fact  that 
over  seventy  per  cent  of  them  are  just  at  puberty.  At  this  age 
we  have  the  period  of  most  profound  physiological  changes,  dor- 
mant instincts  and  emotions  beginning  to  awake  into  life.  The 
sexual  passions  are  born.  Every  boy  with,  as  a  rule,  no  one  to 
guide  him,  emerges  into  abnormal  experiences  which  necessitate 
the  exercise  of  restraint  upon  a  more  extensive  scale.  The  boy  is 
also  passing  through  a  long  and  complicated  process  of  adjust- 
ment to  social  surroundings. 

According  to  many  authorities,  his  natural  tendency  at  this 
age  is  to  revert  to  the  nomadic  state  of  civilization.  From  a  bio- 
logical point  of  view  he  is  mature,  and  in  the  animal  kingdom  the 
male  goes  forth  from  the  parental  protection  to  fight  and  make  a 
home  of  his  own.  So  in  boys  today  we  find  the  tendency  to  re- 
vert to  the  primitive  state  manifested  in  the  form  of  truancies, 
incorrigibilities,  frequent  fights,  etc.  This  is  especially  observed 
in  all  children's  play,  rough  play,  killing,  fighting,  test  games, 
etc.  The  school  records  at  this  period  show  worse  deportment 
than  at  any  other  time.  (Note  Chart  No.  1.)  Every  man  can 
recall  some  such  tendency  in  his  own  experience  at  this  age. 


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Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


If  we  recall  the  conditions  of  the  system  at  puberty,  we 
can  better  understand  the  strain  a  boy  labors  under  at  this  time. 
It  is  a  common  observation  that  boys  grow  faster  between 
twelve  and  fourteen  than  at  any  other  time;  legs  lengthen, 
shoulders  broaden,  muscles  develop,  face  widens,  larnyx  be- 
come more  prominent,  voice  changes  and  later  hair  appears  on 
different  parts  of  the  body.  The  heart  almost  doubles  its  ca- 
pacity, with  corresponding  increased  blood  pressure.  "Ratio  of 
volume  of  the  heart  to  width  of  aorta  before  puberty  is  56-20, 
while  afterward  it  is  97-20" 

The  whole  system  is  undergoing  a  rapid  change,  which 
throws  extra  strain  upon  the  already  overwrought,  unstable  ner- 
vous system.  Brain  fibres  are  increasing  rapidly,  new  centers 
are  being  developed  and  habits  formed.  At  this  stage  the  centers 
of  reproduction  normally  have  the  right  of  way  ;  the  tendency 
for  these  to  predominate  causes  the  normal  person  to  exercise- 
will. 

Every  sensory  stimulus  goes  to  a  center,  which  in  turn  tends 
to  produce  stimulus  in  the  motor  nerves,  resulting  in  action. 
Thus  we  have  an  arc.  The  intensity  of  the  sensory  stimuli  or  ir- 
ritant produces  corresponding  tendency  for  action. 

At  puberty,  as  stated  before,  the  natural  tendency  is  not  to 
be  good,  but  to  revert.  In  order  to  overcome  this  inclination 
it  requires  a  restraint  of  the  will,  "which  is  an  aggregate  of  ten- 
dencies to  act  in  a  firm,  prompt  and  definite  way."  Thus  the 
centers  which  we  might  consider  as  governing  obedience  and 
right  and  wrong  are  also  being  developed. 

The  sexual  center  receives  stimuli  over  the  sensory  nerves 
from  the  penis.  At  puberty  these  stimuli  are  increased  by  the 
gland  doubling  in  size,  increased  blood  supply,  and  increase  in 
the  Pacinian  corpuscles  of  touch.  The  stimuli  arc  still  further 
increased  and  intensified  by  a  tight  foreskin,  with  adhesions  and 
accumulations  of  smegma.  This,  in  turn,  hyper-stimulates  cen- 
ters, resulting  in  exaggerated  desires  and  augments  the  ten- 
dency for  action,  and  overbalances  stimuli  from  other  centers 
which  tend  to  will  the  right.  Stimuli  of  motor  action  arc  always 
stronger  when  arising  from  without  than  when  arising  within, 
as  from  the  will.  Thus  counteracted  and  overbalanced,  the 
nervous  impulses  are  unreliable,  resulting  in  weakening  of  the 
will,  which  is  followed  in  turn  by  untruthfulness  and  incorrigi- 
bility.  The  boy  knows  the  difference  between  right  and  wrong, 
but  the  exaggerated  impressions  coming  to  the  sexual  center 
"overflows,"  and  blocks  effort  to  do  right. 

The  function  of  a  nerve  cell   is  first  to  generate,  second  to 


274  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

discharge,  and  last  of  all  to  develop  inhibition  and  co-ordination. 
Normally  at  puberty  the  centers  of  reproduction  predominate, 
and  tend  to  block  stimuli  going  out  from  other  centers,  but  when 
the  sensory  stimuli  from  the  reproductive  organs  are  exagger- 
ated, as  by  an  abnormal  condition  of  the  penis,  this,  coupled 
with  the  fact  that  inhibition  functions  of  centers  are  feeble, 
readily  explains  why  the  centers  governing  the  will  (which 
are  endeavoring  to  hold  him  from  going  in  the  line  of  least 
resistance)  are  overpowered,  and  the  boy  does  wrong.  The 
whole  science  of  physiology,  and  especially  psychology,  is  based 
upon  this  principle. 

How  can  this  condition  be  remedied?  First,  by  increasing 
the  stimuli  to  the  centers  governing  the  will — strengthen  the 
will.  Second,  by  allaying  the  sensitiveness  of  centers  themselves. 
Third,  by  overcoming  or  lessening  the  sensory  stimuli,  which 
are  the  origin.  The  last  is  the  easiest. 

In  many  we  remove  the  cause  by  circumcising  the  boy,  which 
breaks  up  the  adhesions  and  removes  the  material  which  has 
been  irritating  the  sensitive  terminal  nerves. 

Now  the  arc  is  broken,  and  the  exaggerated  tendencies 
cease,  the  other  centers  predominate  and  the  boy  gets  control 
of  himself  again. 

The  same  principle  is  illustrated  by  the  exaggerated  stimulus 
from  bad  teeth,  eyes,  adenoids,  tonsils,  poor  nourishment,  etc. 
When  these  are  remedied  similar  good  results  follow,  for  the 
same  reason. 

The  records  of  boys  are  divided  into  groups. 

First :  Boys  who  had  appeared  in  court  for  several  offenses, 
and  who  after  operations  or  correction  of  defects,  improved  so 
much  in  conduct  that  they  did  not  have  to  be  taken  into  court 
again,  although  reporting  continually  to  the  probation  officer,  and 
doing  well. 

Second :  Same  class  of  boys  as  in  the  first  class,  appearing 
in  court  on  several  occasions,  who  after  operation  improved  in 
morals  for  a  period,  but  finally,  for  some  offense,  later  returned 
to  court. 

Third  :  Those  appearing  in  court  only  once.  After  receiv- 
ing attention,  conduct  at  home  and  reports  showed  they  did  well, 
and  were  never  brought  in  for  further  offenses. 

Fourth:  Those  not  doing  well  at  first,  but  finally  turning 
out  much  better. 

Fifth  :  Those  upon  whom  the  operation  had  no  effect  from 
a  moral  point  of  view. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


275 


Sdwot 


Coadu 


This  chart  represents  stages  by  which  boys  usually  go  wrong.  1.  Un- 
satisfactory conduct  at  home.  2.  Truancy  from  home.  3.  Truancy  from 
school.  4.  Incorrigibility  and  bad  company.  5.  Misdemeanor.  Vertical 
line  represents  conduct.  Horizontal  division  time,  each  space  a  month. 
Diagram  represents  career  of  boys  taken  from  Chart  I  and  II;  show- 
ing correction  of  marked  physical  defect  followed  by  improved  moral 
conduct.  None  of  these  boys  have  appeared  in  court  for  over  a  year. 

In  the  first  group  we  have  what  would  ordinarily  be  called 
bad  boys,  who  have  been  tried  in  every  way,  and  were  turned 
over  as  almost  hopeless.  Some  had  appeared  in  court  for  as 
many  as  twelve  offenses.  The  physical  defect  was  corrected 
by  operation,  usually  circumcision.  Of  the  thirty  boys  in  this 
group,  not  one  has  committed  an  offense  to  appear  in  court  since. 
A  record  of  their  conduct  at  home  and  at  school,  which  appears 
in  the  weekly,  bi-weekly  or  monthly  reports  in  the  probation 
office,  shows  a  marked  improvement  in  their  morals. 

In  the  second  group  we  have  boys  worse  than  those  in  the 
first,  with  criminal  tendencies  more  marked.  In  this  class  we 
have  twenty-six,  each  of  whom  appeared  in  court  for  an  average 
of  four  offenses,  at  an  average  interval  of  three  months.  After 
they  were  operated  upon  they  improved  in  morals  for  an  aver- 
age period  of  sixteen  months  each.  During  this  time  the}'  were 
reporting  continually  and  doing  fairly  well.  In  oilier  words,  a 
group  of  boys,  who  were  committing  offenses  every  three 
months,  some  as  often  as  every  ten  days,  and  whose  conduct  at 
home  was  not  satisfactory,  changed  after  the  operation  and  did 


276 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


not  commit  an  offense  and  did  much  better  at  home  for  an 
average  period  of  over  sixteen  months  each. 

In  the  third  group,  as  the  judge  says:  "We  are  getting-  on 
to  ourselves."  They  appeared  only  once,  but  were  given  atten- 
tion as  soon  as  possible,  when  it  was  necessary.  In  this  group 
we  have  twenty  boys,  and  not  one  has  been  brought  into  court 
for  an  offense  since,  and  their  reports  show  them  to  be  doing 
fairly  well. 

The  fourth  group  includes  eight  who  shortly  after  operation 
ran  away,  or  committed  some  petty  offense,  but  the  records  show 
that  they  later  did  improve  in  moral  conduct. 

The  fifth  group  includes  fifteen  boys  upon  whom  no  good 
moral  effect  was  apparent,  although  helped  from  a  physical 
point  of  view.  In  this  group  we  find  the  stigmata  of  degenera- 
tion more  marked;  three  or  four  being  apparently  marked  with 
pre-natal  influence.  Their  tendency  was  to  be  bad,  and  it  was 
born  in  them.  They  are  now  in  Whittier  or  lone. 

The  next  question  is,  did  the  operation  lengthen  the  period- 
icity of  crime?  This  is  shown  in  Chart  III  representing  thirty-one 
boys,  taken  from  groups  I  and  II,  who  have  committed  an  aver- 
age of  six  offenses  each  in  the  average  space  of  time  of  eighteen 
months.  That  is  the  time  elapsing  from  the  date  of  first  offense 
to  that  of  the  last  averaged  eighteen  months.  If  each  appeared 
six  times  (as  a  matter  of  fact  some  appeared  as  often  as  sixteen, 
or  more),  in  a  space  of  eighteen  months,  we  have  a  periodicity 
of  three  months  (as  a  matter  of  fact  some  appeared  as  often  as 
every  ten  days),  before  the  operation,  while  immediately  fol- 
lowing we  have  a  break  in  the  periodicity  to  a  jump  of  eighteen 
months,  instead  of  three. 


~7Tlo  tifAi         y 


£=T 

3 


This  chart  represents  periodicity  of  crime  in  31  hoys,  each  appear- 
ing in  court  for  sonic  offense  on  an  average  of  six  times  each — at  inter- 
vals of  three  months.  After  operation  not  appearing  again  for  over 
eighteen  months  with  more  or  less  good  report. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  277 

The  boys  in  the  first,  second  and  third  groups,  or  about 
seventy-five  boys,  showed  marked  moral  improvement.  Tn  the 
fifth  and  sixth  groups,  containing  twenty-four  boys,  they  were 
not  helped  morally,  yet  the  records  showed  marked  physical 
and  also  many  times  mental  improvement. 

Thus  over  sixty-eight  per  cent  of  the  boys  showed  marked 
improvement  morally,  while  fifteen  to  sixteen  per  cent  showed 
no  such  improvement.  These  results  do  not  include  about  thirty 
boys  who  were  operated  on  during  the  past  six  months,  as  this 
short  time  did  not  seem  a  fair  test,  although  a  boy  who  has  been 
bad  in  school,  incorrigible  at  home  and  a  nuisance  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, who  turns  over  and  is  better,  even  for  a  month,  no 
doubt  has  been  benefitted. 

If  but  five  per  cent  of  those  who  needed  attention  had  been 
helped  morally,  or  even  one  in  a  hundred  positively,  instead  of 
more  than  seventy  in  a  hundred  as  it  is,  we  would  feel  that  our 
work  was  justified.  (The  seventy  per  cent  helped  applies  to 
twenty-two  per  cent  of  the  total  who  needed  attention,  thus 
making  about  sixteen  per  cent  in  all  who  were  benefitted.) 

Of  course  the  number  of  cases  under  investigation  are  not 
sufficient  to  justify  our  considering  the  conclusions  drawn  as 
absolutely  correct,  and  this  paper  must  be  considered  as  a  pre- 
liminary report.  The  investigation  will  well  repay  further  ob- 
servations extending  over  a  greater  period  of  time  and  a  greater 
number  of  cases. 

If  any  good  has  been  accomplished  in  this  work,  and  if  any 
benefit  is  to  be  derived  in  the  future,  the  credit  is  due  the  one 
under  whose  stimulus  and  direction  everything  has  been  done. 
I  refer  to  the  Honorable  Curtis  D.  Wilbur,  Judge  of  the  Juvenile 
Court  of  Los  Angeles  County. 


DOES  THE  ABNORMAL  CONDITIONS   OF  THE  TEETH   CON- 
CONTRIBUTE  TO  JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY? 

Read  before  the  Los  Angeles  County  Dental  Society  by  John 
A.  Colliver,  A.B.,  M.D.,  Medical  Probation  Officer,  Juvenile 
Court,  Los  Angeles  County. 

My  excuse  for  accepting  an  invitation  to  present  to  you  a 
paper  upon  a  subject  which  may  seem  a  little  out  of  my  line,  is 
my  earnest  desire  to  obtain  from  yon  all  the  information  1  can. 
which  may  in  some  way  aid  us  in  solving  the  problem  ot  bad- 
ness in  boys. 

After  examining  a  few  thousand  juvenile  delinquents,  ex- 
tending over  a  period  of  the  last  seven  years,  1  have  a  strong 


278  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

feeling  that  there  is  a  physical  basis  for,  at  least,  the  beginning 
of  juvenile  criminality.  Of  course,  the  greatest  influence  in 
the  production  of  this  delinquency  is  a  factor  over  which  we 
have  little  or  no  control — the  parents — but  aside  from  and  in  ad- 
dition to  the  parents,  I  believe  there  is  a  physical  basis  for  the  be- 
ginning, and  often  the  continuance  of  crime.  It  is  not  an  easy 
matter  to  determine  this  cause,  but  the  work  is  only  in  its  infancy 
and  if,  at  the  present,  we  can  only  find  a  physical  basis  in  a  very 
small  per  cent  and  profit  by  it,  we  are  more  than  paid  for  our 
endeavor. 

So,  if  I  stimulate  you  to  free  discussion,  thereby  giving  us 
the  benefit  of  your  knowledge,  our  efforts  will  not  be  in  vain. 

In  the  classification  of  about  1,000  cases,  I  find  that  60  per 
cent  of  the  boys  have  defective  teeth.  By  defective  teeth  I  mean 
irregular,  not  opposing,  notched  and  decayed  or  aching.  No 
account  is  taken  of  uncleanliness,  etc.  In  other  words,  only 
those  are  classified  defective  which  may  be  producing  directly  or 
indirectly  some  irritation.  The  per  cent  of  defective  teeth  among 
school  children  at  same  age  is  10  to  12  per  cent  less  than  the 
juvenile  delinquents  in  our  court. 

This  difference  is  worthy  of  consideration  as  one  of  the  fac- 
tors* contributing  to  juvenile  delinquency.  Let  us  consider  its 
bearing,  direct  and  indirect,  on  the  psychic  character  of  the  child. 

In  order  to  understand  this  effect  better,  let  us  first  study 
the  boy. 

A  classification  by  age  of  all  the  boys  appearing  in  Judge 
Wilbur's  court  during  the  last  six  or  seven  years,  reveals  the 
fact  that  over  70  per  cent  of  them  are  between  13  and  15  years 
old.  This  is  the  age  of  puberty.  A  period  of  profound,  physio- 
logical change.  He  grows  faster  at  this  time,  his  legs  lengthen, 
shoulders  broaden,  muscles  develop,  face  widens,  larynx  be- 
comes more  prominent,  voice  changes.  Heart,  digestion  and 
all  vital  systems  are  undergoing  and  adapting  themselves  to  the 
rapid  changes.  The  system  which  feels  the  strain  most  of  all  is 
the  already  over-wrought  nervous  system.  Brain  fibres  are 
rapidly  increasing  and  new  centers  are  being  developed,  and 
habits  which  influence  his  future  life  are  being  formed.  What 
does  this  mean?  Every  sensory  stimulus  goes  to  a  center  which 
in  turn  tends  to  produce  stimulus  in  the  motor  nerves,  resulting 
in  action.  The  intensity  of  the  sensory  stimulus  or  irritant 
produce  corresponding  tendency  for  action. 

The  function  of  a  nerve  cell  is  last  of  all  to  develop  inhibition 
and  co-ordination.  Thus,  during  infancy  and  childhood  the  power 
of  inhibition  is  weak. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  279 

It  is  not  the  natural  tendency  for  a  boy  to  be  good.  That  is 
a  reflection  of  his  environment  and  parents.  According  to 
many  authorities,  his  natural  tendency  at  the  age  of  puberty  is 
to  revert  to  the  nomadic  state  of  civilization.  From  a  biological 
point  of  view,  he  is  mature,  and  in  the  animal  kingdom  the  male 
leaves  the  parental  protection  to  make  a  home  for  himself. 

So,  in  boys  to-day,  we  find  the  tendency  is  for  them  to  go 
in  the  direction  of  least  resistance  and  revert  to  a  primitive  state 
manifested  in  the  form  of  truancies,  incorrigibles,  frequent  fights, 
and  the  desire  for  physical  supremacy.  This  is  especially  ob- 
served in  the  natural  play  of  children. 

The  training  a  boy  receives  is  artificial  to  him,  so  more  brain 
centers  must  be  brought  into  action  with  new  fibres  and  associ- 
ated connections.  The  oftener  he  does  a  thing,  the  easier  it  is. 
But  at  first  and  for  many  times  it  is  an  effort. 

Now  let  some  other  stimulus  come  over  the  sensory  nerve, 
as  an  aching  or  sensitive  tooth,  and  it  will  predominate  over 
those  which  are  voluntary  and  arise  from  within.  The  result  is, 
an  early  instinct  manifests  itself  and  he  tries  to  free  himself. 
He  shows  the  savage.  The  lines  over  which  good  habits  have 
been  traveling  are  crossed  and  blocked.  He  is  cross,  irritable, 
and  the  carrying  out  of  the  acquired  habit  is  forgotten.  This,  to- 
gether with  the  fact  that  his  nervous  inhibitory  function  is  not 
fully  developed,  causes  him  to  lose  control  of  himself.  His  will 
is  overruled  and  he  does  and  says  things  he  would  not  other- 
wise. He  becomes  incorrigible,  disrespectful,  disobedient, 
first  at  home  and  afterwards  to  the  law,  and  winds  up  in  court. 

Another  form  of  irritation  of  direct  nature,  but  more  obscure, 
is  found  in  the  condition  of  impacted  teeth.  Here  we  do  notice 
a  condition  similar  to  that  which,  when  the  weather  gets  cold, 
causes  fowls  to  fly  south  to  warmer  climate.  It  is  illustrated  in 
boys  by  a  spirit  of  unrest,  disobedience,  truancy,  incorrigibility, 
etc. 

It  was  early  observed  that  criminals  often  had  irregular 
and  abnormal  teeth.  It  is  possible  this  might  have  been  one  of 
contributing  elements. 

In  looking  over  the  records,  there  are  4o  boys  with  irregular 
teeth,  12  of  these  have  them  impacted.  Of  these  boys,  almost 
without  exception,  they  began  their  troubles  by  truancy  and 
incorrigibility. 

A  very  interesting  case  occurred  in  Philadelphia  and  was 
reported  by  Dr.  Arthur  Holmes. 

A  boy  of  well-to-do  parents,  who  should  have  had  good 
training  at  home,  was  compelled  to  stop  school,  not  because  of 


280  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

standing,  but  on  account  of  bad  conduct.  He  could  not  sit  still, 
was  always  turning  around,  and  he  was  demoralizing  the  whole 
school  room  until  the  teacher  was  compelled  to  suspend  him. 
At  home  all  effort  failed  to  control  his  boisterousness  and  mis- 
chievousness.  His  conduct  there  grew  worse  and  worse,  he 
became  incorrigible  and  untruthful.  Things  were  missing  about 
the  house  and  finally  the  climax  was  reached  when  he  began 
taking  money  from  the  neighbors,  at  which  time  he  was  turned 
over  to  the  juvenile  court. 

A  physical  examination  of  this  boy  showed  no  marked  phy- 
sical abnormality  nor  stigma  of  degeneration.  A  few  adenoids 
were  removed  and  he  was  placed  on  probation.  He  was  utterly 
fearless  and  careless  of  the  consequences  of  the  law.  At  home 
he  was  quarrelsome,  disobedient,  irritable,  stubborn  and  always 
creating  a  turmoil.  When  permitted  to  go  on  the  street  he 
would  remain  out  late  at  night  and  lie  about  his  whereabouts. 
Inside  of  a  few  weeks  he  turned  up  in  court  again  for  stealing. 

Another  careful  examination  was  made  of  the  boy  and  it 
was  found  that  second  teeth  were  forcing  their  way  along  the 
old  ones  and  his  gums  were  swollen  and  red.  The  boy  was  sent 
to  Dr.  Edward  C.  Kirk  who,  upon  being  told  of  the  boy's  ten- 
dencies, suggested  the  whole  trouble  might  be  due  to  impacted 
teeth. 

I  will  read  a  part  of  his  report  to  the  judge  of  the  juvenile 
court : 

"On  the  lower  right  side,  the  space  between  the  first  per- 
manent molar  and  first  premolar  has  been  partially  closed  by 
the  pushing  forward  of  the  first  permanent  molar.  This  con- 
dition has  led  to  a  partial  impaction  of  the  second  premolar 
which  is,  as  yet,  unerupted,  and  which  may  be  a  source  of  peri- 
pheral irritation.  On  the  whole,  the  case  is,  from  my  point  of 
view,  a  typical  one  of  what  I  called  dentitional  stress ;  that  is 
to  say,  of  nervous  irritation  leading  to  a  choreic  tendency  re- 
sulting from  the  general  nervous  irritation  which  frequently 
arises  during  the  period  of  exchange  of  the  permanent  for  the 
deciduous  set  of  teeth. 

"I  am  of  the  opinion  that  as  soon  as  the  secondary  dentition 
is  fully  in  place  his  nervous  phenomena  will  disappear.  I  should 
consider  it  the  part  of  wisdom  to  relieve  the  young  boy  of  all 
other  sources  of  nervous  stress  until  that  stage  of  dentition 
already  referred  to  has  been  reached.  It  is  a  case  for  fresh  air, 
out-of-door  employments  and  general  improvement  of  hygienic 
conditions  rather  than  for  medical  treatment/' 

In  spite  of  the  rebellious  protest  by  the  boy  and  doubt  of 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  281 


benefit  by  parents  and  others,  the  impaction  was  relieved.  There 
was  an  almost  immediate  improvement  for  the  better.  The 
irritation  of  sensory  nerve  stopped,  the  nervous  arc  was  broken, 
and,  as  Dr.  Holmes  remarked,  the  whole  nervous  system  seemed 
to  breathe  a  sigh  of  relief.  The  effect  was  apparently  permanent 
and  the  boy  returned  to  school  and  continued  as  an  exemplary 
boy. 

I  have  gone  into  details  in  this  case  only  to  illustrate  what 
might  be  done  if  we  had  your  co-operation. 

We  have  boys  in  our  court  every  week,  yes,  almost  daily, 
illustrating  as  varied  a  career  as  the  above. 

So  far,  we  have  not  been  able  to  give  the  last  chapter,  that 
is  up  to  you. 

Time  does  not  permit  me  to  take  up  another  phase  of  the 
indirect  effect  of  defective  teeth  as  brought  out  by  Dr.  Ayers  in 
his  "Laggards  in  our  Schools."  Here  he  states  that  42  per  cent 
of  failure  for  promotion  is  due  to  defective  teeth.  Failure  of 
promotion  often  means  stopping  school;  stopping  school  means 
idleness,  and  idleness  means  trouble,  vice  and  crime,  which 
finally  end  with  the  boy  in  court. 

Indirectly  defective  teeth  contribute  to  juvenile  delinquency 
through  the  digestive  apparatus : 

1st.     Direct   irritation   through   intestinal   tract. 

2d.      Poor  nutrition. 

Direct  irritation  in  the  intestinal  tract  will,  in  the  same  way 
as  direct  stimulus  from  impacted  teeth  or  toothache  itself,  tend 
to  block  the  effort  to  do  right.  The  result  is,  the  boy  passes 
through  the  same  stage  of  irritability,  disobedience,  incorrigi- 
bility,  untruthfulness,  etc. 

Just  last  week  we  had  a  case  illustrating  this  point.  A  boy 
about  15  years  old  was  brought  into  court  for  stealing  bicycles. 
This  boy  had  no  molars  on  either  side  and  gave  a  history  of 
chronic  intestinal  indigestion.  He  began  his  career  by  being 
cross,  irritable  and  saucy  at  home — who  wouldn't  be — playing 
hookey  from  school,  and  getting  in  bad  company,  lieing  in  a 
constant  state  of  irritability  due  to  intestinal  distress,  this  boy 
was  unable  to  control  himself  in  small  things.  Soon  he  did  more 
serious  things  which  brought  him  to  court. 

I  don't  say  that  this  is  the  only  cause  of  his  being  bad,  but 
it  does  seem  to  me  a  possible  important  contributing  element. 
It  remains  for  dentists  to  prove  this  theory. 

The  nourishment  is  below  normal  in  52  per  cent,  ol  those 
with  one  or  more  bad  teeth.  Whereas,  on  the  other  hand,  only 
15  per  cent,  are  poorly  nourished  in  those  with  good  teeth.  Of 


282  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

the  52  per  cent,  we  cannot  say  that  poor  nourishment  is  due  en- 
tirely to  defective  teeth,  but  of  the  15  per  cent,  showing  poor 
nourishment  with  good  teeth,  over  60  per  cent,  are  cigarette 
smokers  and  have  nervous  disorders. 

As  stated  before,  the  great  majority  of  boys  are  just  at 
puberty,  the  time  when  the  greatest  strain  is  thrown  on  the 
nervous  system,  also  a  time  when  habits  are  being  formed  and 
the  boy  is  trying  to  adjust  himself  to  the  complication  of  modern 
customs. 

A  poorly  nourished  nerve  cell  or  fibre  will  not  react  so  well 
as  one  well  nourished.  A  boy  overworked  and  underfed  is  irre- 
sponsible and  liable  to  break  out  at  any  time.  The  senses  are 
not  true  and  the  reasoning  consequently  not  correct  and  the 
boy's  ideas  of  right  and  wrong  have  changed. 

We  know  defective  teeth  interfere  with  nutrition.  We  have 
had  no  way  of  correcting  teeth  but  we  have  had  cases  where  low 
nutrition  was  associated  with  delinquency,  and  improving  nutri- 
tion improved  morals. 

Not  long  ago,  a  boy  about  12  years  old  came  into  Judge 
Wilbur's  Court  for  the  fourth  or  fifth  time,  for  truancy,  incor- 
rigibility  and  bad  conduct  generally.  He  was  a  bright,  pale 
poorly-nourished,  nervous  and  unkempt  boy.  He  was  sent  home 
with  orders  from  the  court  to  gain  five  pounds  during  the  next 
week  or  ten  days.  A  good  nutritious  diet  list  was  made  out  for 
him  and  he  gained  five  pounds  a  week  for  two  weeks,  and  a 
marked  change  in  character  and  disposition  followed.  This  boy 
was  handicapped  a  great  deal,  too.  He  had  no  mother,  his  father 
was  a  drunkard,  and  his  sister  was  blind.  The  boy  had  to  lead 
his  sister  to  the  stove  to  cook  and  his  father  was  inclined  to  stay 
out  late  and  spend  money  for  whiskey  and  neglect  the  table. 
This  boy  did  not  have  bad  teeth  but  he  was  poorly  nourished,  an 
accompaniment  of  over  one-half  of  those  with  bad  teeth. 

So  correcting  diseased  conditions  of  the  teeth  improves 
nourishment  and  trues  up  the  nervous  system. 

Poorly-nourished  boys  now,  as  a  rule,  are  sent  to  a  country 
home  where  they  receive  abundance  of  good  nutritious  food. 
This  builds  them  up,  improves  their  nervous  system  and  changes 
their  character.  The  improvement  is  due  to  better  and  truer  re- 
actions from  the  nervous  system. 

So  it  is  just  as  consistent  that  the  same  thing  might  be 
accomplished  if  those  with  defective  teeth  could  receive  proper 
attention,  thereby  improving  digestion  and  nutrition. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  283 


THE  PHYSICAL  BASIS  FOR  IRRITABILITY  IN  BOYS— THE 
BEGINNING   OF   JUVENILE   DELINQUENCY. 

Read  before  Riverside  Co.  Medical  Society,  City  School   Board, 

Teachers  and  Probation  Officers,  Riverside,  April,  1911. 
Dr.  John  Adams  Colliver,  A.  ?>.,  M.  D.,  Medical  Probation  Officer 

Juvenile  Court. 

This  evening  I  am  going  to  tell  you  some  stories  and  try  to 
give  you  some  Juvenile  Court  Clinic.  Those  who  have  come  here 
expecting  the  usual  learned  scientific  paper  quoting  long  lists 
of  authorities,  etc..  are  going  to  be  more  or  less  disappointed. 
This  is  a  home  product  worked  up  from  home  material,  all  taken 
from  our  Juvenile  Court,  over  which  presides  your  former  fellow- 
townsman,  the  Hon.  Curtis  D.  Wilbur. 

Before  taking  up  this  Clinic,  however,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  review  a  few  underlying  principles.  I  will  endeavor  to  give 
you  some  facts  and  a  little  theory,  although,  as  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  theory  was  the  last  worked  out. 

It  has  been  the  constant  endeavor  of  the  court  to  discover 
the  cause  of  crime.  I  believe  there  is  always  a  reason  for  a  boy 
going  bad,  but  the  reason  is  not  always  within  the  boy.  Of 
course,  the  greatest  influence  in  the  production  of  delinquency 
in  boys  is  a  factor  over  which  we  have  little  or  no  control — the 
parents  ;  but  aside  from  and  in  addition  to  the  parents,  I  believe 
there  is  a  physical  basis  for  the  beginning  and  often  the  continu- 
ance of  crime  in  the  boy.  It  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  determine 
this  cause,  but  the  work  is  only  in  its  infancy  and  if  we  find 
there  is  a  physical  basis  in  a  very  small  per  cent,  and  profit  by  it 
we  are  more  than  paid  for  our  endeavor.  This  means,  as  you 
see,  that  badness  in  boys  is  more  or  less  excusable  as  far  as  a 
boy  himself  is  concerned — in  one  case  fault  of  the  parents,  in  the 
other  the  boy's  defect. 

A  careful  analysis  of  the  early  history  of  a  few  thousand 
juvenile  delinquents  shows  that  a  large  majority  begin  their 
career  by  being  irritable  at  home.  This  per  cent,  would  probably 
be  much  higher  if  more  reliable  early  data  could  be  obtained. 
This  is  the  cause  of  the  first  step  a  boy  takes  toward  becoming  a 
criminal.  \\  e  all  know  that  all  irritable  boys  do  not  become  dis- 
respectful, and  once  disrespectful  and  disobedient  do  not  become 
incorrigible;  nor  those  becoming  incorrigible  go  on  to  criminals, 
nor  do  all  criminals  get  into  court.  But  it  does  mean  that  they 
are  on  their  way,  and  if  the  cause  be  not  found  and  corrected, 
will  arrive  there.  The  converse  is  true,  however,  namely  :  scarcely 
a  juvenile  delinquent  or  an  adult  criminal  but  that  has  passed 
that  way. 


284  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

Now  what  is  the  cause  of  this  irritability,  which  is  the  first 
step  in  changing  the  character  of  the  boy?  The  nervous  mechan- 
ism is  the  same  in  all  cases,  although  originating  from  different 
sources.  In  other  words,  different  causes  produce  the  same 
phenomena  or  irritability  in  the  same  way.  Before  taking  up 
these  different  causes,  therefore,  let  us  first  understand  the  main 
phenomena. 

The  nervous  system  consists  of  the  brain,  spinal  cord  and 
two  sets  of  nerves,  one  for  carrying  impulses  in,  called  sensory 
nerves,  and  another  for  transmitting  impulses  out  to  muscles, 
called  motor  nerves.  Any  stimulation  or  irritation  of  sensory 
nerves  goes  to  a  center  in  the  cord,  or  brain,  and  causes  stimula- 
tion in  a  motor  nerve  which  passes  out  and  tends  to  make  the 
muscles  contract  and  there  is  motion.  It  is  further  true  that  all 
irritation  of  sensory  nerves  tends  to  travel  this  arc.  This  is  what 
is  commonly  called  reflex  action,  while  all  of  the  most  compli- 
cated movements  we  daily  perform  without  thinking  about  them 
are  other  examples.  In  other  words,  all  of  our  habits  are  of  this 
variety.  The  only  difference  lies  in  the  fact  that  impulses  for 
habits  arise  within  the  brain  and  are  voluntary.  Any  new  move- 
ment at  first  is  difficult  and  slow,  but  the  more  we  make  it  the 
easier  and  more  rapid  it  can  be  done,  until  soon  it  is  done  un- 
consciously and  it  becomes  part  of  our  daily  life.  This  is  just 
as  true  for  good  as  for  bad  habits,  either  becomes  fixed. 

On  top  of  all  this  we  find  that  the  natural  tendency  of  a  boy 
is  not  to  be  good ;  and  this  is  especially  noticeable  at  puberty. 
At  this  age,  from  a  biological  point  of  view,  he  is  mature.  This 
tendency  to  go  bad  is  especially  noticeable  in  boys  at  this 
age  by  their  school  reports,  showing  poorest  deportment  of 
all  their  school  days.  We  see  it  also  in  frequent  fights, 
truancies,  incorrigibilities,  etc.  Again  we  see  the  same 
tendency  illustrated  in  children's  natural  play,  where  they 
tend  to  revert,  as  shown  in  such  play  as  "chasing,"  ''hide 
and  seek,"  "big  Indian"  "killing  games,"  etc.  Thus  it  is 
not  natural  for  a  boy  to  be  good  any  more  than  it  is  consistent 
to  raise  a  vveedless  crop  without  cultivation,  or  domestic  animals 
without  training.  His  tendency  is  to  go  in  the  line  of  least  re- 
sistance. If  he  is  good,  it  is  a  reflection  of  his  environment  and 
speaks  well  as  a  rule  for  his  parents. 

There  is  no  clear-cut  line  between  good  and  bad  habits. 
This  line  of  demarkation  is  subject  to  constant  change  in  the 
effort  to  adapt  himself  to  social  environment.  What  was  com- 
mon property,  at  one  time,  today  is  trespass.  Things  that  you 
could  do  and  enjoy  when  a  child,  would  today  land  you  in  the 


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court.  According  to  the  last  report,  from  the  clerk  of  the  Pro- 
bation Court  of  New  York,  over  fifty  per  cent  of  cases  of  the 
children  taken  into  court  in  New  York  City  are  due  to  the  child's 
normal  instinct  to  play.  So  we  see  the  standard  of  right  and 
wrong  is  constantly  changing,  but  the  physiological  make-up 
of  the  boy  remains  the  same. 

With  the  boy's  natural  tendency  to  go  bad,  the  good  boy 
must  be  trained.  His  habits,  therefore,  are  artificial  and  conse- 
quently more  difficult  and  uncertain.  With  all  this,  we  have 
the  unstable  nervous  system  of  puberty  struggling  to  adapt 
itself  to  the  rapid  physical  growth.  We  have  the  age  of  unde- 
veloped inhibition  ;  the  age  of  greatest  desire  for  possessions ; 
and  we  have  over  92  per  cent  of  boys  from  broken  homes,  mean- 
ing practically  no  training.  How  can  we  blame  the  boy  for 
going  wrong? 

Stimuli  from  the  outside  are  stronger  than  those  arising 
from  within,  as  the  will  and  tendency  for  action  is  proportional 
to  intensity  of  stimulus.  In  other  word,  a  stimulus  may  arise 
from  without,  as  from  some  physical  defect,  and  be  so  strong 
as  to  block  the  weaker  impulses  arising  from  within,  as  the  will, 
and  the  lines  over  which  the  more  difficult  and  unnatural  acquired 
habits  travel  are  blocked.  The  boy  reverts  and  does  the  most 
natural  thing — he  shows  the  savage.  He  becomes  irritable  and 
says  and  does  things  he  would  not  otherwise.  If  the  irritability 
continues,  he  becomes  more  ugly,  disrespectful,  incorrigible,  and 
disobedient,  first  at  home,  next  at  school  and  finally  to  the  law, 
and  winds  up  in  court. 

It  is  concerning  these  many  different  stimuli,  which 'arise 
from  outside  of  the  brain,  that  I  will  introduce  the  clinic. 

The  simplest,  uncomplicated  form  of  irritability  is  first  no- 
ticed in  the  infant,  who  ceases  to  play,  cries  easier,  and  finally 
gets  spunky  and  mad,  as  the  time  approaches  and  runs  over  for 
its  feeding.  Later  in  life  the  same  form  of  irritability  is  exhibited 
in  the  child.  In  each  case  they  are  changed  to  smiling,  cheerful 
and  playful  beings  by  the  satisfaction  of  hunger,  and  allaying  the 
irritation  of  the  terminal  nerves  of  the  stomach.  As  we  pass 
higher  up  it  is  a  common  observation  to  notice  the  irritability 
in  adults  coincident  with  hunger,  indigestion,  sleeplessness,  corns 
and  even  a  saw  collar. 

Now  let  us  take  up  the  clinic  as  they  come,  starting  with  the 
external  irritants,  then  taking  the  internal  and  finally  those  which 
are  obscure  or  toxic. 

TEETH. 

In  the  classification  of  about  1000  cases.  I  find  about  (>0  per 


286  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


cent,  of  the  boys  have  defective  teeth.  By  defective  teeth  I  mean 
irregular,  not  opposing,  notched  and  decayed  or  aching.  No 
account  is  taken  of  uncleanliness,  etc.  In  other  words,  only 
those  are  classified  defective  which  may  be  producing  directly  or 
indirectly  some  irritation.  The  per  cent,  of  defective  teeth  among 
school  children  at  the  same  age  is  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent,  less 
than  the  juvenile  delinquents  in  our  court.  This  difference  is 
worthy  of  consideration  as  one  of  the  factors  contributing  to 
juvenile  delinquency.  Let  us  consider  its  bearing  on  the  psychic 
activities  and  character  of  the  child.  We  have  had  numerous 
boys  in  court  who  have  complained  of  toothache,  which  no  doubt 
contributed  to  their  delinquency. 

Another  form  of  irritation  of  direct  nature  but  more  obscure 
is  found  in  the  conditions  of  impacted  teeth.  Here  we  do  not 
have  the  direct  local  acute  irritation  but  a  low  grade  irritation 
which  produces  a  nervous  tension.  This  tension  is  similar  to 
instinct  which,  when  the  weather  gets  cold,  causes  fowls  to  fly 
South  to  a  warmer  climate.  It  is  illustrated  in  boys,  by  a  spirit 
of  unrest,  disobedience,  truancy,  incorrigibility,  etc. 

Indirectly,  defective  teeth  contribute  to  irritation  through  the 
digestive  apparatus.  First,  a  direct  irritation  through  the  intes- 
tinal tract.  Second,  by  poor  nutrition.  Direct  irritation  in  the 
intestinal  tract  will,  in  the  same  way  as  direct  stimulus  from  im- 
pacted teeth  or  toothache  itself,  tend  to  block  effort  to  do  right. 
The  result  is  the  boy  passes  through  the  same  stage  of  irrita- 
bility, disobedience,  incorrigibility  and  untruthfulness. 

Two  cases  almost  identical  illustrate  this  point.  One  boy 
15  and  the  other  16  years  old  were  brought  into  court  for  steal- 
ing. One  had  no  molars  on  either  side  above  or  below  and  the 
other  had  no  lower  molars.  Both  gave  a  history  of  chronic  intes- 
tinal indigestion.  They  each  began  their  career  by  being  cross 
and  irritable  at  home ;  later  "playing  hooky"  from  school  and  get- 
ting in  with  bad  company.  Being  in  a  constant  state  of  nervous 
tension  they  were  unable  to  control  themselves  in  small  things, 
and  soon  wound  up  in  court  for  a  serious  offense.  We  do  not 
doubt  that  the  teeth — or  lack  of  them — should  receive  a  very  im- 
portant consideration  in  these  cases. 

As  stated  in  a  previous  paper  the  nourishment  was  below 
normal  in  52  per  cent  of  those  boys  with  one  or  more  bad  teeth, 
whereas  only  15  per  cent  are  poorly  nourished  in  those  with  good 
teeth.  Out  of  the  52  per  cent  we  cannot  say  that  poor  nourish- 
ment is  due  entirely  to  defective  teeth,  but  of  the  15  per  cent 
showing  poor  nourishment  with  good  teeth  over  60  per  cent  were 
cigarette  smokers  and  had  nervous  disorders.  It  is  also  an  inter- 


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L>7 


esting  fact  to  know  that  nutrition  was  poorest  in  those  having 
but  one  bad  tooth,  rather  than  those  having  many.  This  again 
illustrates  the  nervous  control  and  relation.  The  effect  of  poor 
nourishment  will  be  taken  up  later. 

ADENOIDS  AND  TONSILS. 

Much  has  been  written  and  discussed  concerning  the  effect 
of  adenoids  and  tonsils  on  the  mentality  of  the  child.  It  has  been 
shown  that  their  removal  is  almost  always  followed  by  improve- 
ment, especially  physical  and  nearly  always  mental.  Likewise 
our  work  has  shown  an  improvement  morally.  Their  removal  re- 
lieves the  nervous  reflex  arc  and  thus  tends  to  allay  irritability— 
the  beginning  of  badness. 

This  is  illustrated  in  the  case  of  a  little  Jew,  12  years  old. 
This  boy  had  a  Russian  Jew  step-father,  who  traveled  and  sold 
cheap  jewelry,  and  his  mother  kept  a  small  grocery  store.  In 
other  words,  his  home  was  broken.  The  boy  smoked  cigarettes 
and  his  heart  showed  the  effect.  He  was  a  persistent  truant. 
This  and  disobedience  were  his  greatest  faults,  although  at  one 


This  chart  shows  numerous  offenses,  represented  by  the  vertical 
lines,  covering  period  of  X  months,  avera^in^  m<nv  than  two  a  month 
until  operated  upon  at  (()),  when  criminal  tendency  -lopped  for  about 
t\vo  months. 


288  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

time  he  helped  roll  a  drunk,  and  at  another  snatched  a  woman's 
purse  at  an  Orpheum  matinee.  He  had  appeared  in  court  and 
been  let  off  by  promises,  etc.,  so  many  times  that  he  had  com- 
pletely demoralized  the  court  rules  concerning  the  disposition 
of  such  cases.  The  judge  was  through  with  him,  as  were  all 
probation  officers,  and  the  order  had  been  written  for  "Whit- 
tier."  But  by  special  request,  the  judge  changed  the  order,  and 
allowed  me  to  remove  his  adenoids,  just  to  see  the  effect.  This 
boy  changed  his  whole  behavior  and  conducted  himself  differ- 
ently almost  immediately.  lie  worked  himself  up  to  be  an  officer 
at  the  parental  school  and  although  many  opportunities  offered 
themselves  to  run  away,  and  although'  many  of  his  associates  did 
run  away,  it  was  nearly  a  year  before  he  appeared  in  court  for 
any  offense.  Illustrated  in  diagram  (a). 

Another  case  of  removal  of  adenoids  improved  the  hearing 
to  such  an  extent,  that  a  boy  who  before  had  the  reputation 
of  disobedience  was  changed  at  once  with  return  of  hearing. 
Thus  defective  hearing  and  incorrigibility  are  sometimes  closely 
associated.  Many  a  boy  has  the  reputation  of  being  disobedient 
through  defective  hearing. 

EYES. 

Defective  eyesight  is  the  source  of  constant  irritation — giv- 
ing rise  to  headache — irritability,  and  often  accounts  for  truancy 
and  its  evil  associations. 

We  have  persistent  truants  who,  when  given  properly  fitted 
glasses,  became  good  pupils  and  obedient  boys. 

GENITO-URINARY  SYSTEM. 

The  phenomena  of  irritability  is  greatest  when  derived  from 
the  genito-urinary  system.  Normally  at  puberty  the  centers  of 
reproduction  predominate,  and  tend  to  block  the  weaker  im- 
pulses. This  is  exaggerated  when  we  have  abnormal  conditions. 

In  many  cases  we  remove  the  cause  by  a  needed  circum- 
cision which  breaks  up  the  adhesions  and  removes  the  material 
which  has  been  irritating  the  sensitive  terminal  nerves.  Now 
the  arc  is  broken.  The  exaggerated  tendencies  cease.  The  other 
centers  predominate  and  the  boy  gets  control  of  himself.  This 
is  illustrated  by  numerous  cases,  and  a  composite  curve  of  thirty 
boys  is  shown  in  the  diagram.  Hoys  who  had  appeared  in  court 
an  average  of  six  times  every  three  months  before  the  operation 
did  not  appear  for  over  eighteen  months  afterward. 

Healthy  boy,  age  14,  parents  separated  owing  to  the 
lather's  drinking.  Hoy  lived  with  mother  who  took  in  washing  for 


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289 


a  living.  He  smoked  cigarettes  and  had  tobacco-marked  teeth  and 
heart  lesion.  Sight,  hearing  and  teeth  good ;  acne  pimples  on 
tace,  and  has  thick  black  hair;  untidy  in  his  dress,  Began  by 
being  cross  and  disobedient  at  home.  Was  abusive  to  small  boys 
and  the  leader  of  a  bad  gang.  He  came  into  court  for  the  first 
time  for  stealing  a  wheel.  Six  months  later  for  burglarizing  a 
house  and  taking  a  number  of  things.  Four  months  later  he  ap- 
peared for  stealing  $15  from  a  blind  man,  and  one  month  later 
than  this  he  was  finally  brought  in  for  an  attempt  to  rob  the 
post  office.  The  boy  was  again  given  a  good  examination  and 
consent  obtained  from  the  mother  to  perform  the  circumcision, 
which  the  boy  needed  badly.  As  a  result,  a  marked  change  in 
his  character  followed.  The  boy  settled  down,  became  less  irri- 
table ;  no  longer  cared  to  be  the  bully ;  got  a  job  and  has  since 
done  well.  It  has  now  been  over  three  years,  and  he  has  never 
appeared  in  court.  This  is  illustrated  by  diagram  (b)  herewith. 


This  Chart  illustrates  the  effect  of  a  needed  operation.  Marked 
physical  improvement  followed  in  this  case,  the  nervous  system  became 
more  stable  and  boy  gained  complete  control  of  him>elf. 

Another  boy  named  II—  -  was  given  up  as  a  hopeless,  incor- 
rigible truant,  who  was  disobedient  and  disrespectful  to  his  par- 
ents and  the  law.  A  similar  operation  was  performed  and  he  ex- 
perienced a  similar  change,  and  it  has  been  over  six  years  since 
he  has  been  in  court,  and  reports  show  he  is  doing  well. 

Age  15,  well-developed  boy.  Father  a  carpenter,  mother 
dead,  but  has  a  step-mother  during  the  last  six  years,  lie  began 
his  career  by  being  saucy  and  disobedient  to  his  step-mother. 
\Vould  run  away  and  shirk  his  chores.  Later  lie  began  running 
with  bad  company,  and  one  Sunday  broke  into  a  bicycle  st»re  and 


290 


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stole  different  parts  of  a  wheel.  This  boy  was  brought  into  court. 
Later  was  operated  upon  and  allowed  to  go  home.  His  step- 
mother told  me  several  months  later  that  H—  -  was  a  different 
boy ;  that  he  had  a  complete  change  of  disposition.  He  was  as 
good  as  a  girl  to  help  about  the  house.  Washes  and  wipes  dishes, 
and  even  stays  at  home  and  so  good  he  has  started  to  learn  cook- 
ing. Lately  he  got  a  job  and  gets  home  early  every  night,  and 
lias  never  returned  to  court  in  over  three  years. 

Age  14.  Mother  dead  five  years.  Boy  lives  with  a  sister 
and  brother-in-law.  Father  brass  cutter.  This  boy  was  taken 
in  court  a  number  of  times  for  being  out  late  and  frequenting 
moving  pictures.  He  gave  a  history  of  being  irritable  and  saucy 
to  his  sister.  The  same  operation  changed  him  so  that  for  two 
years  he  has  had  a  good  report. 

Age  10.  Father  saloon  man.  Poorly  nourished,  pale-faced, 
nervous  flat-chested  boy.  Brought  in  numerous  times  for  tru- 
ancy, three  times  for  burglary,  once  for  stealing  a  wheel  and 
finally  for  stealing  a  purse  in  a  grocery  store.  After  re- 
ceiving attention,  this  boy  has  changed  and  given  no  trouble  and 
has  given  good  reports  for  over  three  years.  This  is  shown  by 
diagram  (c)  herewith. 


This  chart  illustrates  gradual  increase  of  intensity  of  crime  until  oper- 
ated upon  at  (O)  when  character  changed  and  the  boy  has  been  different 
ever  since. 


Age  thirteen.  Bad  home.  Parents  quarreled,  and  boy  drank 
wine,  beer  and  whiskey  at  home  with  them.  He  was  poorly 
nourished  and  had  a  peculiar  husky  voice.  Was  very  shy  and 
beyond  control  at  home.  He  was  a  persistent  truant.  Out  late 
nights.  Turned  in  fire  alarms,  stealing  bicycles,  etc.  For  two 
years  this  boy  averaged  a  crime  a  month,  and  I  am  informed  of 
sixteen  times  stealing  that  were  not  recorded.  An  examination 
showed  a  marked  defect,  and  he  was  attended  to  the  same  as  the 


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other  boys  in  this  group.  The  arc  was  broken,  and  a  periodicity 
of  his  crimes  lengthened  for  over  a  year  instead  of  a  month,  dur- 
ing which  time  he  did  not  appear  in  court.  He  finally  fell  in  love 
with  his  school  teacher,  who  loved  and  kissed  and  caressed  him 
just  as  puberty  was  dawning,  and  the  boy  went  to  the  bad  and 
wound  up  at  Whittier. 

The  case  of  George  and  Gus,  John  and  James,  and  fifty  others 
could  be  mentioned  who  have  received  attention  and  given  evi- 
dence that  the  irritation  of  the  genito-urinary  tract  has  been  one 
contributing  element  towards  their  delinquency. 

POOR  NOURISHMENT. 

Poor  nourishment  has  contributed  to  delinquency,  as  illus- 
trated in  the  following  cases  : 

Age  15.  Mother  dead.  Father  drunkard.  Blind  sister  keeps 
house  for  father  and  boy.  The  boy  is  undersi/e,  weighing  only 
70  pounds  and  being  only  4jX  feet  tall.  He  is  pigeon-breasted 
and  poorly  nourished,  but  possessed  no  marks  of  physical  de- 
fects. His  meals  were  irregular  and  he  drank  much  coffee,  be- 
cause this  was  the  principal  diet  of  his  father.  The  boy  had  to 
lead  his  sister  to  the  stove  to  cook.  This  and  the  fact  that  the 
father  was  a  poor  provider,  gave  Frank  little  to  eat.  The  boy  be- 
came ircorrigible,  disobedient  and  would  not  stay  home.  Was 
out  nearly  every  night,  into  mischief,  and  when  he  could  get 
the  money  went  to  the  moving  pictures.  Finally  got  in  with 
a  bad  lot  of  fellows  and  stole  a  cornet  and  a  fountain  pen.  He 
had  appeared  in  court  a  few  times,  but  the  last  time  was  sent 
home  under  instructions  by  the  judge  "to  put  some  Mesh  on  and 
gain  five  pounds  a  week."  He  was  put  on  a  diet  and  gained  six 
pounds  the  first  week  and  five  the  second  week.  This  gain  was 
accompanied  by  a  marked  change  in  his  disposition  and  by  be- 
coming better  natured,  staying  home,  helping  sister,  and  trying 
to  keep  his  father  sober. 

A  colored  boy  poorly  nourished.  He  was  trained  to  be  a 
jockey.  I>y  baths,  diets  and  sweats  he  was  reduced  20  pounds  or 
more  so  he  could  ride  in  the  races.  While  thus  reduced  his  moral 
resistance  was  at  low  ebb.  lie  robbed  the  very  man  who  was 
trying  to  help  him,  and  then  ran  awav.  lie  was  arrested  on  the 
train  between  here  and  Oakland  on  suspicion.  The  suspicion  be- 
ing aroused  by  a  gentle  tip  he  gave  the  porter  of  $87.00.  1  le  was 
sent  to  the  parental  school  and  fattened  up.  and  his  moral  stabil- 
ity more  or  less  returned. 

There  is  a  home  in  the  foot  hills  not  far  from  Los  Angeles 
where  there  is  plenty  of  home  products  and  good  things  to  cat, 


292  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

and  a  matron.  Airs.  Strickland,  simply  stuffs  the  boys;  where 
many  poorly  nourished  incorrigibles  are  now  sent.  The  boys  im- 
prove here  and  do  well,  and  the  secret  of  her  success  lies  in  the 
fact  that  all  the  boys  are  almost  overfed. 

Diet  itself  is  a  very  important  item  and  a  few  cases  have 
become  irritable  and  ugly.  This  can  be  traced  to  improper  food. 
One  boy  was  fed  three  times  a  day  on  mush.  Another  on  dried 
fruit,  olive  oil,  stale  bread.  Still  another  on  sardines  and  canned 
goods.  When  these  boys  have  been  placed  on  proper  diet,  the 
change  is  noticed  soon  after  in  their  dispositions. 

RHEUMATISM. 

Many  cases  of  irritability  and  incorrigibility  of  obscure  char- 
acter, I  believe,  are  due  to  rheumatism.  A  private  case,  a  good 
family  history,  well-nourished  child,  ordinarily  of  good,  cheerful, 
playing  disposition.  Becomes  peevish,  cries  easily,  is  cross  and 
ugly.  Throws  her  doll  across  the  room  ;  tears  her  dresses  ;  grinds 
her  teeth  and  screams.  Makes  faces  at  you,  and  cries  with  the 
least  provocation.  Pulls  your  hair  when  you  examine  her.  A 
girl  who  was  always  obedient  before.  Now  if  you  ask  her  to  be 
quiet,  she  stands  on  her  head,  spits  at  you  and  scratches  you. 
Examination  showed  a  well-nourished  child,  and  practically  no 
physical  defects.  There  was  a  slight  rise  of  temperature,  throat 
a  little  red  but  not  complaining  of  being  sore.  Stethoscope  re- 
vealed endocarditis.  This  child  had  rheumatism,  and  no  doubt 
had  some  little  trouble  in  her  joints.  All  of  her  ugly  disposition 
disappeared  under  the  administration  of  anti-rheumatics. 

Boy  aged  12.  Father  employed  during  the  day,  not  returning 
until  late  at  night.  Mother  and  the  three  other  children  away 
from  home  sewing  all  day.  The  boy  is  left  to  shift  for  himself. 
His  favorite  haunt  was  near  the  river  bed,  and  his  parents  give 
a  history  of  night  cries  and  some  complaint  of  "growing  pains." 
His  school  teacher  has  tried  in  every  way  to  win  the  boy.  Is 
fairly  good  in  his  deportment,  but  is  thoughtless  and  indifferent 
to  the  law,  and  disrespectful  to  orders  and  rules.  He  frequently 
runs  away  from  home,  and  during  the  last  vacation  stole  a  ride 
on  a  freight  train  to  Long  Beach.  Smokes  cigarettes.  The  ex- 
amination of  the  boy  shows  he  is  markedly  undersize  and  pos- 
sessing a  marked  endocarditis.  Xo  one  can  doubt  but  that  rheu- 
matism was  one  of  the  contributing  causes  of  this  case. 

INTESTINAL  IRRITATION. 

Like  cases  of  rheumatism,  many  obscure  cases  of  irritability 
are  often  found  to  be  due  to  intestinal  irritation. 

Boy  six  years  old.  Good  parents  and  good  home  training.  Boy 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  293 


well  nourished ;  hardly  a  physical  defect  to  be  found.  Gets  spells 
of  being  sulky ;  will  not  allow  anyone  to  touch  him  ;  gets  up  cry- 
ing and  cries  most  of  the  day ;  impossible  for  mother  to  please 
him  by  any  means;  he  strikes  and  kicks  her,  and  lies  on  the 
floor  in  the  corner  and  sulks.  The  mother  has  learned  that  one 
dose  of  castor  oil  will  fix  this  boy  in  a  few  hours.  The  change  in 
his  disposition  is  marvelous,  but  will  return  again  as  soon  as  he 
has  eaten  enough  truck  between  meals  to  cause  the  same  irrita- 
tion. 

A  little  boy  about  9  years  old,  and  had  a  most  amiable  dis- 
position. He  was  so  good  that  all  the  neighbors  and  storekeepers 
thought  so  much  of  him  that  they  were  feeding  him  candy  and 
sweets.  In  spite  of  his  popularity,  he  became  very  changed  at 
home;  once  an  obedient  boy,  now  he  began  to  talk  back  to  his 
mother,  and  be  cross  to  her.  The  boy  apparently  could  not  help 
it,  and  would  at  first  break  down  and  cry  after  each  cross  word 
to  his  mother.  It  seemed  to  hurt  him  to  think  that  he  was  mis- 
treating his  mother.  Later  the  edge  wore  off,  and  it  did  not  seem 
to  bother  him  so  much  to  talk  back  to  her.  He  would  run  away 
and  beg  money  from  strangers,  and  if  he  could  not  get  it  that 
way,  he  would  take  it  from  home.  The  money  was  always  used 
to  buy  candies  and  sweets.  The  parents  had  requested  the  stores 
not  to  give  him  anything,  so  he  now  bought  to  satisfy  the  crav- 
ing. The  boy  was  acting  so  bad  and  disobedient  that  the  parents 
consulted  me  in  regard  to  him,  and  were  very  much  grieved 
about  his  stealing  at  home,  and  were  anxious  if  possible  to  find 
a  cause  for  it.  A  physical  examination  revealed  no  marked  de- 
fects. There  was  a  slight  mass,  however,  in  the  region  of  the 
caecum.  lie  was  given  a  good  cathartic,  and  advised  to  be  kept 
away  from  sweets  for  a  week.  After  two  or  three  brisk  actions 
the  mass  in  the  side  disappeared  and  the  stools  were  found  to 
contain  raisin  seeds,  stems  and  seeds,  small  pieces  of  citron,  very 
small  round  white  pieces  of  what  were  supposed  to  be  the  re- 
mains of  candy  marbles.  In  addition  to  all  this,  there  were  nu- 
merous small  pieces  of  paper,  which  the  boy  in  his  haste  had 
evidently  eaten  with  the  candy.  You  would  scarcely  believe  the 
change  that  came  over  that  boy.  fie  was  as  obedient,  cheerful 
and  as  good  a  boy  as  anyone  would  want. 

TOXIC. 

Meningitis,  infectious  and  contagions  diseases  usually  begin 
by  noticeable  change  in  child's  disposition.  And  in  some  ot  our 
cases  the  irritability  seems  to  have  left  an  after  effect  upon  the 
moral  character. 


294  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

Mothers  often  insist  in  open  court  and  privately  that  her  boy 
has  been  different  since  certain  infectious  disease.  This  is  well 
illustrated  by  Case  2. 

J—  — ,  age  15.  Good,  obedient  moral  boy  before  typhoid 
changed,  absolutely  changed  since  then  so  much  so  that  parents 
say  you  scarcely  recognize  him,  hardly  recognize  him  as  the 
same  boy.  Similar  changes  seem  to  be  true  of  other  infectious 
diseases. 

In  addition  to  all  the  cases  mentioned  above,  there  are  nu- 
merous other  obscure  causes  which  no  doubt  contribute  to  juve- 
nile delinquency.  Crime  and  badness  in  boys  often  exhibit  a 
periodicity  similar  to  epilepsy.  This  is  true  of  truancy  and  cer- 
tain forms  of  stealing.  This  periodicity  at  times  is  often  asso- 
ciated with  epilepsy. 

Cases  could  be  cited  where  undescended  testicles,  hernia, 
hypospadius,  phymosis,  small  meatus,  varicocele,  abnormally 
large  or  infantile  development  have  also  apparently  contributed 
to  juvenile  delinquency,  as  does  also  worms,  profuse  hemorrhage 
nose,  persistent  headache,  injury  to  head,  etc.  The  sources  of 
irritability  are  so  obscured,  and  the  physiology,  psychology  of 
puberty,  so  undeveloped,  we  feel  that  further  investigation  will 
reveal  new  relations. 

We  as  physicians  and  you  as  teachers  and  parents  should 
have  the  interest  of  the  boy  at  heart  and  always  bear  in  mind 
that  a  boy  can  not  develop  rightly,  if  his  senses  are  wrong  or  the 
sensory  impulses  from  physical  irritations  arising  from  within 
the  body  or  those  of  environment  are  so  strong  as  to  interfere 
with  the  development  of  the  will — the  basis  of  character. 


The  Physician  and  the  Los 
Angeles  Juvenile  Court 


Dr.  John  A.  Colliver,  M.D. 

Has  been  of  the  greatest  assistance  in  the  work  of  the 
Juvenile  Court,  in  the  examination  of  Boys,  and 

Dr.  Bewley,  M.D. 

A  lady  physician  has  from  the  first  when  required  made 

examinations  of  the  girls     Her  work  has 

been  of  great  value  to  this  Court 


Medical  Side  of  Juvenile  Court  Work 

By  John  Adams  Colliver,  A.B.,  M.D. 

Delivered  before  the  California  State  League  of  Municipalitiei 
at  San  Diego,  Cal.,  November,   1910 

You  have  asked  me  to  speak  on  the  medical  side  of  juvenile 
court  work,  its  importance  and  necessity,  and  tell  about  some  of 
the  systems  in  other  places,  and  give  the  ideal  system  for  this 
State. 

MEDICAL  SIDE: 

In  this  I  will  confine  my  remarks  to  the  juvenile  court  of 
Los  Angeles  County  and  to  the  examination  of  boys.  The  med- 
ical side  of  juvenile  court  work  does  not  simply  mean  a  physical 
examination,  for  no  matter  how  complete,  if  not  coupled  with 
other  data,  it  is  unsatisfactory  and  often  worthless. 

Of  course,  in  all  physical  examinations,  the  age,  weight, 
height  and  certain  measurements  and  physical  characteristics 
are  taken.  In  addition  to  these,  we  talce  account  of  the  bearing 
upon  the  cases  of  all  previous  illnesses,  contagious  diseases  and 
injuries,  especially  to  the  head.  The  family  history,  environment, 
occupation,  school  standing  and  habits  are  considered  and  re- 
corded. Finally  all  parts  of  the  body  are  gone  over  thoroughly, 
especially  the  special  senses,  throat,  teeth  and  genito-urinary 
organs.  When  there  is  a  defect  or  stigma  it  is  noted.  All  these 
are  correlated  and  endeavor  is  made  to  see  what  relation  each  or 
any  bear  to  the  boy's  present  condition. 

In  considering  the  environment,  we  take  into  account  broken 
homes,  habits  of  parents  and  diet,  all  of  which  are  strong  con- 
tributing elements.  Many  times  I  think  almost  the  whole  cause 
is  due,  for  instance,  to  diet  alone.  The  habits  of  the  bov  are 
gone  into  pretty  thoroughly,  as  to  whether  they  attend  Sunday 
school  or  church,  games  most  enjoyed,  cigarette  smoking,  opium 
or  cocaine  fiends,  liquor  drinking,  masturbation  and  sexual  per- 
version, or  any  physiological  or  psychological  change  from 
normal. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  man}-  characteristics  are  noted  which 
are  not  purely  physical,  but  these  are  very  important  :  and  when 
taken  into  consideration,  alone,  or  with  all  the  other  detects  (if 
any),  an  endeavor  is  made  to  solve  the  badness  of  the  boy  irom 


298  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

the  physical,  psychological  or  social  standpoint.  This  is  all  noted 
on  the  card  which  Judge  Wilbur  has  in  his  hands  when  the  boy 
appears  before  him.  He  then  correlates  it  with  other  data  at 
hand,  and  uses  his  judgment  in  the  disposal  of  the  case.  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  parents  are  given  written  advice  in  regard  to  the  care 
of  the  boy  and  with  another  card  he  is  sent  to  his  family  physi- 
cian, or  specialist,  for  examination  or  operation. 

IMPORTANCE. 

It  is  important  that  all  boys  receive  a  physical  examination 
and,  I  think,  much  more  so  for  any  boy  who  is  apparently  ab- 
normal morally.  It  is  surprising  how  little  parents  know  of  their 
own  children,  and  how  many  times  they  overlook  the  commoner 
defects  which,  no  doubt,  contribute  to  the  boy's  irritability — the 
beginning  of  crime. 

For  instance,  in  the  way  of  teeth  alone,  impacted,  decayed 
or  aching,  we  have  defects  which  produce  marked  irritability  in 
a  child,  or  an  adult  for  that  matter,  and  contribute  to  incorrigi- 
bility.  Adenoids  and  tonsils,  in  the  same  way,  are  also  respon- 
sible and,  for  the  physical  improvement  alone,  should  be  removed. 
Anything  that  tends  to  improve  the  nutrition  and  allay  all  local 
irritation  tends  also  in  turn  to  help  the  boy  morally. 

A  classification  of  boys  appearing  in  court  shows  that  over 
73  per  cent  are  at  the  age  of  puberty.  What  does  this  mean? 
It  is  the  age  of  greatest  physiological  changes,  dominant  in- 
stincts and  emotions  begin  to  awake  into  life.  The  sexual  pas- 
sions are  born.  Every  boy  emerges  into  abnormal  experiences. 
He  also  enters  a  long  and  complicated  process  of  social  adjust- 
ment at  this  secretive  and  vicious  habit  forming  age. 

It  is  not  the  natural  tendency  for  a  boy  to  be  good.  As 
stated  before,  over  73  per  cent,  of  boys  brought  into  court  are 
just  at  the  age  of  puberty.  This  is  the  age,  according  to  many 
authorities,  that  the  boy  tends  to  revert  to  the  nomadic  state. 
From  a  biological  point  of  view,  he  is  mature  and  in  the  animal 
kingdom — the  male  goes  forth  from  the  parental  protection  to 
fight  and  make  a  home  for  himself. 

So,  in  boys  today,  we  find  tendency  to  go  in  the  line  of  least 
resistance  and  revert  to  the  primitive  state  manifested  in  the 
form  of  truancies,  incorrigibilities,  frequent  fights,  desire  for 
physical  supremacy  and  lowest  deportment  marks  of  their  school 
lives.  This  tendency  is  especially  observed  in  natural  play  of 
children,  as  fighting,  killing,  test,  etc. 

Today  he  must  adjust  himself  to  the  complication  of  his 
social  surroundings  and,  therefore,  the  training  he  receives  is 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  299 

artificial.  Brain  cells  and  fibres  must  develop  for  it.  It  requires 
concentration  and  effort.  The  more  he  does  a  thing  the  easier 
it  is,  but  at  first  and  for  many  times  it  is  a  great  effort  until  it 
becomes  a  habit,  good  or  bad. 

Sensory  nerves  go  to  a  center  which  tends  to  produce  stim- 
ulus in  the  motor  nerves  resulting  in  action,  the  intensity  of  the 
sensory  stimulus,  or  irritant,  producing  corresponding  tendency 
for  action.  Another  thing  to  remember  is  the  function  of  a  nerve 
cell,  first  to  generate,  second  to  discharge,  and  last  of  all  to  de- 
velop inhibition.  Thus  during  childhood,  the  power  of  inhibition 
or  control  is  weak. 

In  the  action  of  every  boy  impulses  arise  from  the  brain  and 
pass  over  nerve  fibres.  Now,  let  some  other  stimulus  come  in 
over  a  sensory  nerve,  arising  outside  the  brain,  which  is  stronger, 
as  for  instance  intestinal  irritation,  an  aching  tooth,  tight  fore- 
skin, or  some  other  defect,  and  it  "will  predominate  over  those 
which  are  voluntary  and  arise  from  within.  The  result  is  an 
early  instinct  manifests  itself  and  he  tries  to  free  himself.  He 
shows  the  savage.  The  lines  over  which  good  habits  have  been 
traveling  are  crossed  and  blocked.  lie  is  cross,  irritable  and  the 
carrying  out  of  acquired  habits  are  forgotten.  This  together 
with  the  fact  that  his  nervous  system  and  hibitory  control  is  not 
fully  developed  causes  him  to  lose  control  of  himself.  His  will 
is  overruled  and  he  does  and  says  things  that  he  would  not  do 
otherwise.  He  becomes  incorrigible,  disrespectful,  disobedient, 
first  at  home  and  afterwards  to  the  law,  and  winds  up  finally  in 
court.  So,  from  a  theoretical  point  of  view,  it  is  impor- 
tant and  necesary  that  physical  defects  be  corrected,  espe- 
cially at  this  period.  The  practical  point  was  worked  out  before 
this  theory,  as  is  shown  in  the  following  report,  which  was  read 
before  the  Southern  California  Medical  Society  in  December, 
1909,  and  afterwards  published  in  the  Southern  California  Prac- 
titioner. 

This  shows  correction  of  defects  in  boys,  followed  by  marked 
moral  improvement. 

(1)  Immediate  effect  for  the  betterment. 

(2)  Lengthening  of  the   periodicity  of  crime,   thus  giving 
the  boy  time  to  adjust  himself. 

(3)  Changing  character  of  some  boys  so  that  for  a  number 
of  years  boys  who  were  in  trouble  every  week  or  so  have  never 
appeared  since  receiving  attention. 

(4)  Those    in    which,    although    improved    physically    and 
somewhat     mentally     showed     no     marked     improvement     mor- 
ally. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


NECESSITY. 

The  necessity  of  the  work  is  illustrated  in  a  small  scale  in 
the  above. 

The  courts  throughout  the  United  States  are  being  more  or 
less  forced  to  having  a  competent  physician  examine  boys. 

1st.  l>y  the  parents.  Hardly  a  week  passes  by  in  any  court 
but  that  a  mother  firmly  believes  her  boy's  badness  dates  from 
the  time  he  was  hit  on  the  head  or  had  some  contagious  disease 
or  broke  his  leg  or  that  there  is  "really  something  the  matter  with 
the  boy."  The  judges  receive  private  letters  and  pleading  in 
open  court  to  have  the  boy  examined  to  find  the  causes  of  bad- 
ness. 

2nd.  Aside  from  this,  the  judges  themselves  are  feeling 
that  they  can  tell  what  is  the  matter  with  a  boy  or,  at  least,  when 
they  should  be  examined.  I  have  talked  with  many  judges 
throughout  East  and  West"  where  they  made  statements  that 
they  did  not  have  a  physical  examination  of  all  boys  made  be- 
cause they  did  not  think  it  necessary,  but  added  that  those  who 
needed  it  were  always  examined,  they  being  the  judge  both  ways. 
They  cannot  tell  what  is  the  matter  with  a  boy  by  looking  at 
him  more  than  you  can  tell  how  much  money  a  man  has  in  his 
pocket  by  looking  at  him.  "That  boy  has  adenoids."  Well, 
when  the  judge  can  tell  it  is  almost  too  late  to  remove  them,  and 
the  result  of  operation  is  often  a  disappointment. 

The  more  they  try.  the  more  they  are  being  convinced  of  the 
necessity  of  systematic  physical  examination  of  all  boys  by  a 
competent  man. 

SYSTEM   IN   OTHER  PLACES. 

No  systematic  physical  examination  of  juvenile  delinquents 
is  carried  on  in  New  York  City.  Only  those  cases  that  the  judge 
thinks  necessary  are  sent  to  the  doctor  for  examination.  Brook- 
lyn is  just  waking  up,  but  is  a  little  ahead  of  Xew  York.  Phila- 
delphia is  ahead  of  either.  In  fact,  each  child  has  a  superficial 
examination  made  before  appearing  before  the  judge,  and  cor- 
rections recommended.  Tn  l>oston.  Judge  Baker,  who  is  elected 
for  life,  has  everything  in  his  hands.  When  I  talked  with  the 
judge,  he  was  inclined  to  think  that  he  was  able  to  tell  when  a 
boy  needed  attention,  but  I  noticed  that  he  spent,  at  least,  the 
best  part  of  a  whole  day  investigating  with  greatest  interest  the 
medical  side  of  the  work  in  Chicago.  Denver  has  a  fair  system. 
Most  boys  are  now  given  a  physical  examination,  and  Judge 
IJndsey  thinks  it  is  becoming  one  of  the  most  important  phases 
of  the  work.  At  the  time  I  talked  with  him,  however,  he  did  not 
think  that  all  cases  needed  examination,  and  that  boys'  rights 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  301 

should  be  respected.  Chicago  has,  I  think,  the  best  system  in 
America.  Every  boy  is  given  a  physical  examination,  and  the 
result  of  this  is  in  the  hands  of  the  judge  at  the  hearing  of  the 
case.  There  are  also  paid  officers  to  see  that  these  defects  or 
needs  are  corrected  or  attended  to.  In  addition  to  this,  Chicago 
has  a  psychological  laboratory,  which  is  doing  splendid  work 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Wm.  Healy. 

IDEAL  SYSTEM. 

In  an  ideal  system  cases  should  be  examined  by  a  competent 
physician,  who  is  interested  in  all  phases  of  the  subject.  lie  should 
be  supplied  with  good  assistants,  a  staff  of  consulting  physicians, 
or  specialists,  statisticians,  competent  people  to  investigate  and 
follow  up  cases.  There  should  be  a  hospital,  where  cases  can  be 
kept  under  observation,  dentist's  chair,  an  operating  room,  etc., 
where  defects  could  be  corrected.  There  should  be  a  psychologi- 
cal laboratory  with  trained  assistants.  ]>oys  in  dentention  should 
be  constantly  occupied,  and  a  personal  study  of  every  case  made 
with  an  endeavor  to  create  certain  impulses  over  nerve  tracks 
which  will  tend  to  supplant  or  eliminate  the  tendency  for  vicious 
habits.  This  can  be  accomplished,  some  by  games,  reading  and 
example,  but  most  of  all  by  keeping  a  boy  busy  and  interested, 
daily,  with  hands,  body  ami  mind  to  the  point  of  fatigue.  This 
introduces  us  to  the  subject  of  equipment  of  the  Detention  Home 
and  Reform  Schools  for  the  purpose  of  building  up  crippled  or 
weak  will  powers,  breaking  up  bad  habits  and  making  men. 

In  addition  to  the  above  a  completely  equipped  research, 
hospital  for  observation  and  systematic  study  of  each  {Juvenile 
delinquent  coupled  with  its  appropriate  individual  treatment,  or 
psychological  training  for  the  boy  is,  and  some  day  will  be,  the 
ideal  system. 


Look  up  and  not  down, 

Look  forward  and  not  back, 

Look  out  and  not  in, 

And  lend  a  hand. — Kdward  K.  Hale. 


302  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


Address  of  Dr.  George  E.  Abbott 

Read  before  the  Men's  Brotherhood,  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Pasadena 

March  18,  1912 

Our  president  is  asking-  me  to  do  a  hard  day's  work  in  fif- 
teen minutes.  If  I  exceed  the  speed;  limit,  please  arrest  him, 
not  me. 

I  can  only  suggest  a  few  thoughts,  hold  up  one  or  two  pic- 
tures, ask  a  question  or  two,  and  then  leave  the  whole  for  your 
own  careful  thought  and  future  action. 

Dr.  Merrifield,  in  suggesting  the  sex  problem  of  our  boys 
and  girls,  and  what  they  should  be  told,  asks,  "Has  the  policy 
of  silence  broken  down?" 

We  Answer,  No,  it  has  not  broken  down !  Parents  as  a  rule 
are  still  silent  in  matters  of  sex  education.  They  hope  the  chil- 
dren will  not  see  this,  will  not  do  that,  and  they  trust  that  some- 
how they  will  come  out  all  right.  And  the  children,  traveling 
along  life's  highway,  prying  into  all  the  nooks  and  corners  of 
their  widening  life,  spy  out  this  and  learn  that,  and  are  told 
many  bad  thing's  by  their  companions;  but  out  of  careful  con- 
sideration of  their  parents'  feelings,  they  also  still  observe  the 
policy  of  silence. 

Consider,  if  you  will,  the  absurdity  of  the  position  taken  by 
many  parents  toward  children  of  ten,  twelve  and  those  just 
entering  their  teens. 

For  years  the  parents  have  dressed  them  differently,  and 
treated  them  differently.  For  years,  if  you  should  call  the  boy  "a 
little  sissie"  he  would  get  angry — or  the  little  girl  "a  perfect 
torn  boy"  she  would  cry. 

For  years  they  have  known  that  they  were  different  from 
each  other.  For  years  they  have  seen  the  difference  in  various 
animals.  Have  seen  the  fowls  with  each  other  in  the  barnyard, 
sometimes  the  larger  animals  also.  Have  seen  the  frogs  in  the 
ponds  spawning  together.  The  hen  has  the  chickens,  not  the 
rooster.  The  puppies  and  kittens  come  to  the  mother  only. 
Other  children  talk  these  matters  over  and  tell  smutty  stories 
and  have  set  wrong  examples. 

Nature  herself  has  been  constantly  telling  them  they  were 
different.  She  has  covered  parts  of  their  bodies  with  shame,  and 
certain  actions  with  disgrace.  Are  these  bright,  keen-witted, 
wideawake  children  little  fools? 

Not  a  bit  of  it ! 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  303 

Are  these  parents  I  have  described  criminally  stupid  and 
negligent?  Absolutely! 

I  should  be  ashamed  of  a  boy  or  a  girl,  entering  their  teens, 
and  pity  them  as  mentally  deficient,  if  they  did  not  know  some 
things,  and  many  things  about  the  sex  problem. 

Ignorance  does  not  mean  innocence.  Some  of  the  most  vile 
and  vicious  minds  we  have  are  not  yet  fifteen  years  old. 

Knowledge  does  not  mean  impurity.  Some  of  the  most 
beautifully  pure,  chaste  and  holy  minds  we  have  are  our  grand- 
mothers of  large  families. 

But  ignorance  does  mean  danger!  Knowledge  does  mean 
safety !  Every  child  has  a  right  to  demand  of  its  parents  the 
knowledge  between  good  and  evil. 

What  must  happen  in  the  next  ten  years,  before  these  chil- 
dren are  twenty-two,  twenty-four  or  twenty-six? 

Some  must  pass  through  the  mental  preparation  of  the  high 
school,  college  and  professional  schools. 

Others  must  have  passed  through  a  long  course  of  manual 
training  in  business  or  the  trades. 

Many  of  them,  all  unprepared,  will  have  married  and  be- 
come parents.  Some,  by  kindly  love,  will  have  been  lead  in 
paths  of  righteousness  into  Sabbath  school  and  church  ;  others 
will  have  gone  astray  in  ignorance  into  private  sin,  or  publicly, 
into  the  army  of  the  red  light  district. 

Now,  men,  I  put  it  to  you.  Is  it  fair  to  let  these  girls  and 
boys  grope  their  way  in  the  dark  and  fall  into  sin  and  lose  this 
life  as  well  as  the  next,  when  we  have  the  power  to  turn  night 
into  day,  make  the  ways  of  evil  and  good1  perfectly  plain  and 
teach  them  what  they  ought  to  know? 

All  children  have  a  right  to  be  governed.  They  have  a 
right  to  demand  of  us  an  education  that  will  make  them  at  least 
self  supporting.  They  have  a  right  to  demand  that  they  shall 
be  guarded  from  accident  of  body,  mind  and  soul.  They  also 
have  a  right  to  demand  that  they  be  kept  from  temptation  too 
strong  for  them  to  resist. 

They  look  upward  with  the  Lord's  Prayer  on  their  lips, 
"Lead  us  not  into  temptation."  God  looks  to  the  parent  and 
perhaps  to  us,  to  answer  that  prayer  with  Christian  instruction. 

WHAT!  WHEN!  WHO!   HOW! 

What  shall  we  teach  our  children  and  voting  people?  Teach 
them  the  difference  between  the  false  lust  of  the  impure,  exag- 
gerated imagination  and  the  true  facts  of  the  beauty  of  (".oil- 
given  love. 


304  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

When  shall  we  teach  them? 

By  all  means  hefore  their  thoughtless  and  evil  companions 
pre-occupy  their  minds  with  poisoned  thoughts.  Teach  them 
before  they  have  grown  away  from  us.  Tell  them  some  things 
early,  other  things  later.  Tell  them  more  fully,  as  soon  as  the 
girls  begin  to  menstruate,  and  are  in  physical  danger  of  preg- 
nancy, and  when  the  boys  may  do  physical  harm.  Tell  them 
before  they  may  take  a  false  step  and  have  a  life-long  curse  to 
carry. 

Who  should  teach  them? 

Ah,  that  is  the  difficult  problem;  the  solution  of  which,  for 
the  great  mass  of  our  children,  has  not  yet  been  solved. 

Theoretically  and  practically  also,  for  a  few  families  here 
and  there,  the  parents  are  by  far  the  better  teachers;  but  for 
the  multitudes,  whose  parents  do  not  know  how  to  teach  or 
deal  with  children,  I  incline  to  think  that  a  thoughtful,  Chris- 
tian teacher  may  be  the  wiser  person  to  impart  the  necessary 
knowledge  or  perhaps  to  teach  the  parents  how  and  what  to 
teach  the  children.  Don't  count  the  cost  to  yourself.  Count 
the  gain  to  your  child. 

Parents  should  remember  this  also:  That  their  child's  lit- 
tle chum  may  have  been  instructed  and  guarded  by  its  parents 
and  your  child  may  be  saying,  "I  wonder  why  father  and  mother 
don't  love  me  enough  to  tell  me  what  is  right  and  wrong." 

How  shall  we  teach  them? 

(1)  Some  believe  in  mild  measures,  but  the  rewards  of  evil 
doing  are  not  mild  results. 

(2)  Others    would    be    severe    with    their    boys.      Severity 
along  these  lines  is  folly. 

Another  asks  his  physician  to  show  the  boys  the  worst  pic- 
ture his  library  will  produce,  and  scare  his  boys  so  they  will 
never  get  over  it.  That  also  is  usless ;  for  boys,  like  men,  are 
willing  to  take  all  sorts  of  risks  and  run  their  chances,  when  un- 
der temptation. 

Many  thoughtful  men  believe  in  careful  education  in  sex 
hygiene,  and  claim  that  it  is  the  only  way  to  solve  this  most 
difficult  problem.  But  has  a  full  knowledge  of  anatomy,  physi- 
ology, hygiene  and  even  clinical  pathology  always  kept  men 
from  the  social  evil?  Xo !  it  has  not. 

The  best  thing  I  know  of  is  an  intelligent,  forceful  Christian 
character;  this,  and  this  only,  will  keep  a  man  from  yielding  to 
the  strongest  temptation  to  which  we  can  be  subjected. 

How  shall  we  secure  for  our  young  people  an  "intelligent 
Christian  character?"  It  is  only  possible  by  combining  all  of 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  305 

the  foregoing  parts  into  an  intelligent  whole  and  adding  thereto 
a  Christian  perspective. 

Some  mildness,  some  severity,  a  little  pathology,  that  it 
may  be  avoided,  a  good  deal  of  intelligent  physiology  and  hy- 
giene, that  is  to  be  used,  not  so  much  for  the  purpose  of  deter- 
ring one  from  the  social  evil,  as  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a 
full  and  complete  development,  for  efficiency  in  one's  life  work 
and  above  all  to  instill  into  every  young  person  the  noble  atti- 
tude of  a  Christian  man  and  woman  toward  the  whole  subject  of 
sex  hygiene,  and  of  bringing  into  the  world  healthful  little  chil- 
dren. 

Again  along  the  lines  of  instruction,  our  boys  and  girls  have 
a  right  to  know  that  nature  does  nothing  suddenly;  that  their 
sexual  organs  must  develop  gradually  and  slowly;  that  with 
this  development  will  come  certain  temptations  of  which  they 
should  be  glad,  because  it  shows  that  they  are  developing  well 
along  moral  lines;  but  that  they  must  positively  resist  these 
temptations  for  the  sake  of  present  character  building  and  fu- 
ture usefulness. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  wade  in  the  filth  of  the  gutter  in  order 
to  know  its  rottenness.  At  the  same  time  we  must  not  spread  a 
coating  of  glittering  sand  over  it,  lest  some  one,  in  ignorance, 
steps  in  and  becomes  polluted. 

Our  young  people  have  a  right  to  be  guarded  against  a  "red- 
light  district." 

They  have  a  right  to  know  of  the  sad  picture  that  in  most 
large  cities  thousands  of  poor  girls  and  women  lead  a  life  of  sin 
and  shame,  being  enticed  into  it  by  glitter  and  fascination  at 
first,  and  ending  in  disease  and  death  after  an  average  short  life 
of  five  years. 

Evil  companions  will  describe  the  glitter  and  fascination 
of  Bacchanalian  lust  and  so-called  manhood. 

It  is  for  the  parents  to  give  their  boys  the  balance  wheel 
of  the  other  side;  always,  however,  in  an  impersonal  way.  put- 
ting the  blame  on  those  already  there,  by  saying  you  do  not  see 
how  any  young  fellow  can  be  so  base  and  cowardly  as  to  ruin 
a  trusting  young  girl,  or  be  one  of  manv  to  do  so,  and  have  her 
body  and  soul  to  answer  for. 

Let  us  always  make  it  very  plain  to  our  boys  that  it  takes 
two  to  make  a  prostitute,  a  male  and  a  female.  Don't  put  all 
the  shame,  odium,  blame  and  disgrace  on  the  poor  woman.  The 
man  is  almost  entirely  to  blame.  No  man — no  prostitute!  Here 
as  elsewhere,  the  woman  is  the  better  halt.  The  woman  stays  in 
her  impure  home,  acknowledges  her  guilt  and  shame,  accepts  the 


306  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

penalty,  socially,  bodily  and  morally.  God  pity  her.  But  the 
man  prostitute  sneaks  back  home  again  to  infect  his  wife  and 
to  create  diseased  children. 

No  wonder,  when  the  woman  taken  in  adultery,  repented, 
Christ  wrote  her  accusation. in  the  dust  of  the  ground  to  be  at 
once  effaced,  and  said  "Neither  do  I  condemn  thee,  go  and  sin 
no  more."  No  wonder,  also,  in  the  very  last  chapter  of  the  Bible 
is  written :  "For  without  the  Heavenly  gates  are  whore  mongers 
and  murderers  and  idolaters." 

If  a  "red  light"  visit  is  necessary  to  young  manhood,  why 
is  it  not  also  necessary  to  our  young  womanhood?  The  very 
suggestion  brings  its  own  strong  protest  and  crushing  veto. 

When  a  noble  young  man  learns  before  hand,  even  one  or 
two  of  the  facts  of  the  white  slave  trade,  he  loses  all  desire  to 
know  more  and  is  fortified  against  almost  any  temptation,  not 
because  it  endangers  him,  but  because  of  its  cursing  the  life 
of  some  poor  girl,  and  above  all,  of  her  heart-broken  mother. 

One  illustration  alone  might  be  given,  where  the  suicide 
of  a  poor  unfortunate  girl  was  advertised  in  a  certain  city,  and 
within  a  week  five  hundred  sorrow-crushed1,  heart-broken  moth- 
ers went  to  the  morgue  to  see  if  possibly  it  was  their  lost  daugh- 
ter. 

Our  boys  and  young  men  need  to  be  supplied  with  ready 
ammunition,  in  the  way  of  answers  to  be  given  when  tempted 
by  their  companions,  that  should  easily  let  them  out  of  tight 
places. 

But  why  should  we  hold  up  the  evil  pictures  for  our  young 
people  to  study  and  try  to  guard  them  against  the  wickedness 
and  sin  of  sextual  abuse.  Why  not  present  to  them  the  noble, 
holy,  Christian  manhood  side  of  sextual  continence. 

I  hardly  know  of  any  short  statement  that  will  strengthen 
young  people  more  than  taking  the  five  fingers  of  the  hand  as 
the  five  great  events  of  life. 

First,  the  thumb  when  one  is  born  into  life. 

Then  the  little  finger  when  one  dies  and  passes  out  of  life. 

Again  the  index  finger  when  one  gives  his  heart  to  the  Sa- 
viour and  so  gives  a  direction  to  this  life  and  that  beyond. 

Then  the  middle  finger  when  he  finds  some  one  with  whom 
to  build  his  home,  and  with  this  tell  him  to  read  the  last  chapter 
of  Proverbs. 

And  lastly  the  ring  finger,  when  they  two  plan  to  create  and 
bring  into  existence  little  children  for  this  life  and  the  world  to 
come. 

Show  your  boy  and  girl  that  if  they  are  ever  to  be  married, 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  307 

surely  their  future  wife  or  husband  must  now  be  living-  some- 
where in  the  world.  Then  ask  them  why  they  should  not  pray 
for  the  one,  whom  they  will  love  by  and  by,  that  they  may  be 
fitted  for  each  other,  and  led  to  each  other. 

Some  claim  it  is  not  right  to  pray  for  such  things.  Not  right 
to  pray  for  a  Christian  husband,  a  Christian  wife  and  Christian 
children.  What  then  may  we  pray  for? 

With  this  thought  of  love  in  mind,  our  young  person  will 
care  little  for — in  fact,  will  be  disgusted  with  any  suggestion  of 
impurity  or  lust,  and  every  temptation  will  only  bring  increased 
strength,  and  determination  to  be  more  manly,  more  worthy, 
more  fitted  to  fulfill  his  or  her  life's  work. 

Let  us  encourage  our  young  men  to  make  this  one  of  their 
rules — -"That  if  I  ever  ask  anyone  to  become  my  wife,  I  want 
to  be  able  to  tell  her  that  I  am  as  pure,  as  I  know  she  will  be, 
and  so  far  I  can  say  it." 

And  for  our  young  women,  let  us  not  pick  out  the  evil 
characters  of  the  Bible  and  tell  them  to  avoid  their  course  in  life, 
but  show  them  the  lovely  mother  of  the  Prophet  Samuel,  and 
of  John  the  Baptist  and  others  who  prayed  for  their  children, 
and  God;  answered  their  prayers,  not  only  with  children  who 
blessed  them,  but  who  blessed  the  whole  world. 

Is  this  altogether  too  theoretical  and  altruistic?  Not  in  the 
least!  I  can  at  once  give  the  names  of  Christian  fathers  and 
mothers  in  Pasadena  who  have  done  and  are  doing  this,  and  who 
already  have  the  answers  to  their  prayers. 


Remember  that  fear  is  the  most  potent  factor  for  disorgan- 
izing an  individual  or  a  nation.  There  is  no  excuse  for  the  em- 
ployment of  this  sentiment  by  those  who  pretend  to  govern. 

Remember  that  the  true  power  of  government  does  not  lie 
in  its  force,  but  in  the  voluntary  submission  of  those  who  are  its 
subjects. 

Remember  that  governments,  either  individual  or  national, 
perish  more  often  through  their  own  mistakes  than  from  the  at- 
tacks of  their  enemies. 

DODDS. 


308  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


San  Quentin,  California,  March  9th,  1910. 
Judge  Curtis  D.  Wilbur, 

Los  Angeles  County  Courthouse, 
Los  Angeles,  California. 

I  am  sending  you  herein  a  copy  of  the  address  made  to  the  San 
Quentin  boys,  by  Mrs.  Maude  Ballington  Booth,  on  Sunday  last,  think- 
ing that  you  might  care  to  look  it  over. 

I  wish  to  thank  you,  Judge  Wilbur,  for  the  talk  you  had  with  Mrs. 
Booth  regarding  me  and  also  I  thank  you  sincerely  for  having  requested 
her  to  see  me,  which  she  did.  Her  little  personal  talk  to  me  was  inspir- 
ing, as  was  her  address  to  the  boys. 

Again  thanking  you  for  the  interest  you  have  shown  in  me  and  hop- 
ing that  I  may  have  a  personal  letter  from  you  at  your  convenience,  I  am, 
Very  sincerely  and  respectfully, 


[A  convict  sent  from  Los  Angeles  County  by  Judge  Wilbur.] 


Address  of  Mrs-  Maude  Ballington  Booth 

At  San  Quentin  Prison,  March  6,  1910 

Dear  Boys,  Dear  Friends  and  Comrades : — 

I  cannot  begin  to  tell  you  how  glad  I  am  to  find  myself  once 
more  on  this  platform  ;  once  more  looking  down  into  your  faces. 
I  have  come  all  the  way  across  the  country  to  see  you.  I  am  to 
have  some  public  meetings,  and  I  suppose  some  of  those  people 
who  come  to  hear  me  in  the  public  halls  and  houses  think  I 
came  across  the  country  to  address  them,  but  I  did  not;  I  came 
to  see  you  here,  and  the  boys  in  Folsom,  and  I  just  threw  the 
other  meetings  in  for  the  week-days,  because  I  could  not  be  with 
you  on  those  days,  but  only  on  Sundays. 

I  am  always  especially  glad  to  stand  upon  this  platform  in 
this  prison,  because  it  \vas  here  in  old  San  Quentin  that  I  had 
the  first  experience  in  prison  walls,  and  it  was  here,  looking  down 
upon  the  faces  of  such  an  audience  that  God  spoke  to  my  heart, 
and  I  consecrated  my  life — it  must  be  seventeen  years  ago — to 
work  for  our  country's  prisons.  And,  therefore,  I  always  feel 
that  to  me  this  is  a  sacred  spot.  The  years  have  passed  by  since 
that  time,  and  to  me  they  have  been  happy  years,  very  happy 
years  of  experience  and  service.  And  as  the  work  has  spread, 
as  it  has  deepened  in  its  influence  throughout  our  country,  my 
regret  is  that  the  continent  is  so  large  that  the  distances  are  so 
great,  that  I  cannot  be  with  you  but  so  rarely.  It  has  been  my 
hope  and  intention  to  come  at  least  every  two  years,  and  last 
spring  I  would  have  been  with  you  again,  but  unfortunately  I 
was  taken  ill  and  put  in  a  hospital  and  lay  Hat  upon  my  back 
for  a  great  many  weeks. 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  309 

But  in  coming-  to  you  here  again,  I  can  speak  with  as  much 
hope,  faith  and  confidence  as  ever,  and  I  rejoice  that  the  message 
I  bring  you  is  a  message  I  believe  in  more  firmly  today  than  ever 
before. 

NEW  HOPE  AND  PROMISE. 

When  I  first  went  into  prison  walls  and  brought  the  message 
of  hope  to  those  with  whom  I  spoke,  I  believed  that  for  every 
man  within  prison  walls  there  was  a  chance  in  the  future;  that 
however  sad,  dark,  sinful  the  past;  however  weak  had  been  his 
will  power;  however  faltering  had  been  his  steps,  there  is  a 
power  that  could  come  and  touch  his  soul  and  call  him  into  a 
newness  of  life  and  send  him  out  into  the  world  to  make  good 
and  send  back  to  those  within  the  walls  a  message  of  cheer  and 
hope.  And  if  I  believed  it  in  those  early  days  I  believe  it  still 
more  today,  after  all  I  have  seen  of  the  splendid  way  in  which 
my  boys  come  home  from  prison  filled  with  new  hope  and  prom- 
ise. Our  work  in  the  Volunteer  Prison  League  is  no  longer  an 
experiment.  There  are  numbers  here  within  these  walls  who 
have  joined  the  League,  who  feel  that  they  stand  rather  alone, 
just  a  little  handful  in  the  great  prison  population.  Yet  through- 
out this  great  country  there  are  over  sixty  thousand  men  within 
prison  walls  who  have  taken  their  stand,  and  joined  our  League, 
and  a  large  percentage  have  gone  forth  into  the  world  to  make 
good.  And  now  as  I  travel  throughout  our  country,  whether 
I  go  north,  south,  east  or  west,  I  hardly  ever  speak  to  a  public 
audience  but  that  some  of  our  boys  come  to  greet  me — boys  that 
I  knew  ten,  twelve,  eight  or  six  years  ago,  to  tell  me  joyfully  of 
their  success  and  happiness  in  life. 

And  I  tell  you,  boys,  it  goes  straight  to  my  heart,  when  they 
come  to  me  with  a  father  or  a  mother,  or  a  wife,  who,  with  a 
happy  light  in  her  eyes,  and  a  cheerful,  joyful  ring  in  her  voice, 
tells  me  how  well  this  man,  who  caused  her  sorrow  in  the  past, 
is  living  up  to  his  promises,  and  how  manfully  today  he  is  bear- 
ing her  burdens  and  bringing  blessings  to  the  home  he  once 
shrouded  and  cursed.  And  every  time  [  thus  meet  one  of  my 
boys  I  turn  to  my  glad  heart  and  say,  "This  is  well  worth  while. 
for  just  that  one."  I  thank  him  who  taught  me  one  lesson — the 
value  of  every  precious  soul,  and  each  one  makes  the  whole  of 
my  work,  the  whole  of  my  life,  and  all  the  expenditure  of  money, 
worth  while,  for  no  human  reckoning  can  calculate  how  pre- 
cious is  that  one  soul  in  the  eyes  of  God.  In  past  days  there 
were  many  people  who  did  not  think  that  a  man  in  prison  was 
worth  much.  Hecausc  a  man  had  stained  his  name,  because  a 
man  had  fallen,  and  because  a  man  had  committed  an  ottense 


310  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

against  the  law  of  his  country,  and  because  he  had  made  a 
wretched  mistake,  and  because  he  had  been  caught,  and  because 
he  had  been  brought  within  the  prison  walls,  and  had  to  don 
stripes,  and  be  called  by  the  world  that  hard,  harsh  name  "con- 
vict"— because  of  these  things  the  world  has  said  that  man's 
life  is  worth  nothing.  He  is  no  good.  My  heart  used  to  burn 
in  those  days  when  people  said  to  me :  "A  man  who  is  once  a 
thief  is  always  a  thief;  once  a  convict,  always  a  convict,"  and  I 
would  reply,  "I  suppose  then,  "Once  a  hyprocrite,  always  a  hypo- 
crite;  once  a  liar,  always  a  liar;  once  a  grafter,  always  a  grafter." 
Carry  it  right  on  through  life,  if  a  man  has  once  done  an  evil 
thing,  he  is  to  be  condemned  forever,  there  is  no  help  for  any- 
body." And  God  knows  that  there  are  lots  of  you  here  that 
ought  to  be  out.  (Applause.)  And  there  are  lots  of  men  out- 
side that  ought  to  be  in  here.  (Applause.)  And  look  here,  my 
boys,  I  do  not  say  this  hardly  or  harshly ;  and  some  of  you,  if 
you  speak  the  truth,  will  back  all  I  say.  For  some  of  you,  boys, 
it  was  a  good  thing  when  the  sins  of  the  past  were  leading  you 
on,  further  and  further  astray,  you  were  called  to  a  halt,  and  you 
were  made  to  stop  and  think.  I  know  thousands  of  men  leaving 
prison  have  said  to  me,  "Little  Mother,  I  thank  God  for  this 
experience,  and  I  am  going  out  into  the  world  to  prove  it."  And 
when  people  talked  to  me  in  that  cold,  heartless  way  it  made  me 
love  the  boys  more  and  more  and  I  prayed  that  the  great  heart 
of  Divine  love  might  bring  me  into  closer  touch  with  those  whom 
the  world,  through  its  coldness  and  lack  of  charity,  had  given 
up  as  hopelessly  lost. 

WHAT  OF  THE  FUTURE. 

Ah,  boys,  I  wish  you  could  realize  how  precious  is  the  soul 
within  your  breast,  and  the  question  I  ask  when  I  look  down 
into  your  faces  today  is  not  what  you  have  done,  not  what  you 
are,  but  what  may  you  become?  And  what  God  can  make  of 
you?  I  do  not  see  the  stripes,  I  do  not  care  whether  they  call 
you  burglar,  forger,  murderer  or  what  the  name  is,  there  is 
something  beneath  that  I  see  and  that  is  what  I  have  to  talk  to 
today,  and  it  is  that  which  I  want  to  see  cleansed  and  strength- 
ened and  purified  ;  and  it  is  that  which  will  live  forever — the  soul 
beneath  the  surface ! 

There  is  a  story  told1  of  a  gem  so  beautiful  that  it  was  pur- 
chased by  one  of  the  nations  of  Europe  and  held  as  one  of  the 
national  treasures  and  placed  in  the  diadem  of  the  king — beau- 
tiful, magnificent,  worth  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars,  and 
yet  so  many  years  ago  that  selfsame  stone  lay  upon  a  dusty 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  311 

shelf  in  a  little  out-of-the-way  store  in  the  city  of  Naples,  tick- 
eted "Crystal  Quartz" — "one  franc."  If  you  or  I  had  entered 
that  store  we  could'  have  purchased  it  for  less  than  a  quarter. 
For  one  thing,  it  was  not  very  beautiful  to  look  at ;  another  thing-, 
it  was  cheap.  Most  persons  are  running  after  the  costly  things. 
But  one  day  a  connoisseur  entered  the  little  store  and  asked  to 
examine  the  crystal  quartz,  and  when  he  held  it  in  his  hand,  it 
was  revealed  to  him  at  its  intrinsic  value  and  he  realized  that 
when  it  was  cut  and  polished  by  the  hand  of  the  carver,  it  would 
prove  to  be  a  wondrous  gem.  It  was  cut  and  polished,  and  now 
the  world  knows  what  it  is  worth — hundreds  of  thousands  of  dol- 
lers,  and  its  beauty  and  priceless  lustre  dazzles  the  eyes  of  the 
beholder. 

SOMETHING  WORTH  WHILE. 

The  world  may  have  ticketed  you  "Convict — No  good."  I 
say  that  in  the  eyes  of  God  all  men  have  worth.  The  world  will 
say  to  one  man,  "Drunkard,  outcast,  no  good,"  but  God,  who 
looks  down,  says,  "There  is  an  undying  human  soul."  True, 
there  may  be  the  stain  of  sin — God  alone  knows  how  black ;  true, 
there  may  have  been  in  the  past  hardness  and  bitterness  of  heart ; 
true,  there  may  have  been  in  your  life  much  that  spoiled  and 
smudged  it.  But,  ah  !  there  is  a  message  in  this  book  (placing 
her  hand  upon  the  Bible)  that  says  it  will  take  away  that  old, 
sinful  stain,  and  put  in  your  hearts  that  truth  which  will  change 
and  transform  you,  and  then  some  day  if  you  are  true  and  faith- 
ful to  the  light  of  God;s  word  you  will  be  placed  in  the  diadem 
of  the  King  who  rules  the  Universe,  and  all  the  world  will  say 
your  redemption  was  worth  while. 

Now,  feeling  as  I  do  about  this,  it  is  no  wonder  that  I  want 
to  go  into  prison  after  prison,  until  I  have  been  into  prison  more 
than  any  of  you.  (Laughter  and  applause.)  I  am  always  coming 
in,  boys;  and  I  am  always  sorry  to  get  out — so  I  am  not  like  you 
in  that  respect.  And  what  have  I  found?  I  have  not  only 
found  these  things  in  God's  Book,  and  I  believe  them  because 
they  are  in  God's  Book,  but  because  I  have  seen  them  in  the 
hearts  of  the  boys.  I  know  that  beneath  the  surface  there  is  a 
lot  of  true  gold.  I  know  what  you  can  become.  1  know  a  man 
who  has  lived  a  wild,  desperate  life  can  live  a  good,  honest  one  if 
turned  in  the  right  direction.  I  know  that  even  the  weakest,  the 
man  who  has  been  a  coward,  and  could  not  say  no — even  he 
when  the  new  inspiration  comes  to  him  can  rise  up  and  make 
something  of  the  future,  and  become  a  factor  for  good.  You  see 
the  old  standard  (pointing  to  the  banner)  "Look  up  and  hope." 
With  just  that  motto,  in  Sing  Sing  I'rison,  the  Volunteer  Prison 


312  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


League  was  first  formed  ;  when  the  blue  star  was  put  into  the 
white  field — the  white  field  that  stands  for  the  purity  of  life — 
the  blue  star  that  reminds  you  that  on  the  darkest  night  the  stars 
are  still  shining — and  that  old  motto  I  once  again  bring  to  my 
boys  within  prison  walls. 

THE  ONWARD  LOOK. 

I  know  there  is  a  great  temptation  and  tendency  when  you 
find  yourself  within  prison  walls  to  look  back  and  look  down. 
"Ah,"  the  man  says,  "if  I  only  hadn't  done  this  or  that,  if  I  only 
hadn't  given  way  to  the  temptation,  if  I  only  had  followed  my 
better  nature."  But  it  seems  as  he  looks  out  from  within  prison 
walls  he  is  always  looking  backward — regretting,  regretting,  re- 
gretting. And  then  he  looks  down  and  says,  "It  is  a  pretty  hard 
road  I  have  to  travel."  These  days  are  awful  long  and  dreary, 
and  he  spends  his  time  repining  over  the  past  and  lamenting 
over  the  present.  If  you  are  ever  going  to  make  anything  of  the 
future,  it  is  time  to  look  up  and  forward  and  forget  the  past;  let 
your  regret  bring  you  to  real  repentance  where  you  can  say  you 
are  sorry  for  it,  with  a  whole  heart.  Leave  the  past  with  God ; 
you  cannot  bring  it  back ;  it  is  gone  forever.  Remember  there 
is  a  power  that  can  come  into  your  life  today  and  make  it  worth 
while.  That  today  is  the  time  to  lay  a  new  foundation  ;  that 
every  man  of  you  can  turn  these  hours  in  prison  to  good  account, 
and  go  out  into  the  world  of  the  future  determined  to  make  a 
new  stand  for  an  earnest,  honest  life. 

I  remember  when  my  little  son,  who  is  now  a  six-footer,  and 
who  has  been  with  me  some  years  in  my  work,  when  he  was 
just  a  little  fellow,  it  used  to  be  a  rather  difficult  business  for 
me  to  take  him  to  Xew  York  City,  when  he  would  cling  onto  my 
hand,  and  I  used  to  find  that  his  little  feet  would  keep  stumbling. 
And  then  I  found  the  reason  why.  He  was  always  looking  at 
the  things  just  past.  He  would  keep  his  head  twisted  and  I 
would  call  his  attention  and  say,  "You  must  not  do  that ;  look 
where  you  are  going."  And  he  would  say,  "All  right."  And 
then  a  fire  engine  would  pass  and  he  would  look  and  stumble 
again.  And  of  course  with  his  head  one  way  and  his  body  an- 
other, he  would  trip  and  stumble.  And  it  is  like  some  persons  in 
this  life;  they  are  supposed  to  be  walking  ahead,  but  they  are 
always  looking  back  at  the  past,  wishing  for  things  they  have 
had  and  done — the  old  wretched  hurtful  past.  \Yhat  does  the 
sailor  do  as  he  sets  forth  with  his  hand  on  the  rudder  or  wheel? 
What  would  happen  if  he  were  always  looking  to  see  what  ship 
was  coming  behind  him  or  what  was  going  on  at  the  sides?  The 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  313 

sails  would  flop  over  and  the  ship  would  lose  its  course.  What 
does  the  sailor  do?  He  looks  ahead  at  the  little  flag  at  the  mast- 
head that  shows  the  way  the  wind  blows  and  keeps  the  vessel 
headed  true,  making  the  most  of  the  wind  as  he  sails. 

What  of  the  racer,  the  man  who  is  trained  and  in  condition 
for  the  track;  what  would  happen  to  him  if  he  would  look  to  see 
if  the  man  behind  was  catching  up  and  looking  down  at  the  tan 
bark  to  see  if  anything  was  going  to  trip  him  up.  lie,  too,  looks 
steadily  ahead.  Keep  your  eyes  bent  on  the  future,  remember 
that  all  you  do  today  is  going  to  count  in  that  future  and  make 
that  future  a  success. 

MADE  GOOD. 

And  now  I  want  to  say  a  very  practical  word.  I  think  you 
know,  at  least  those  of  you  who  have  read  the  Volunteers'  Ga- 
zette, that  I  believe  in  my  work  and  that  it  is  essentially  prac- 
tical. I  have  only  been  able  to  help  you  as  God  has  enabled 
me  to  help.  Over  eight  thousand  men  have  come  to  me  from 
State  prisons  and  passed  through  only  two  of  our  homes,  one  in 
New  York  and  one  in  Illinois,  and  of  that  number  the  larger  per- 
centage have  made  good.  I  have  always  been  able  to  say  seventy- 
five  per  cent,  have  made  good.  Twenty  per  cent,  more  may  have 
made  good,  but  I  have  lost  sight  of  them.  Only  about  five  per 
cent,  of  those  who  have  passed  through  our  homes  have  returned 
to  State  prison.  Only  last  year  my  son  came  to  me  in  my  little 
office  and  said,  "\Ye  have  been  going  very  carefully  over  the 
books  of  record  and  find  that  you  have  underestimated  ;  over  87 
per  cent,  of  the  boys  who  have  been  with  us  and  gone  out  into 
the  world  are  doing  well  today." 

So  you  can  understand  how  I  feel  and  how  hopeful  this  work 
seems  to  me.  And  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  practical  work  of 
finding  work  for  men  who  wanted  work  and  helping  them  and 
starting  them  and  standing  by  them,  this  work  would  have  long 
since  fallen  to  the  ground  and  been  heard  of  no  more.  1  have 
never  wanted  to  get  away  from  one  strong,  underlying  principle, 
(rod's  power  working  in  man.  I  have  never  yet.  either  in  print 
or  in  person,  said,  "Now,  my  dear  friend,  just  believe  and  be- 
lieve and  it  will  be  all  right."  1  have  never  said,  "What  is  your 
creed?  Accept  my  doctrine  and  all  will  be  well."  1  have  never 
tried  to  talk  sentimental  religion  to  anyone.  1  believe  in  that 
grand  doctrine  which  says,  "Rise  up  and  work  out  your  own 
salvation."  Xo  prison  reformer,  no  aid  from  philanthropists,  no 
sermons  from  your  chaplain,  not  even  God  himseli  can  make  a 
bad  man  good,  unless  lie  rises  up  and  says,  "I  am  done  with  that 


314  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

wretched  life  of  wickedness ;  I  am  going-  to  stand  for  that  which 
is  good."  That  is  the  first  step,  the  turning  of  the  heart  from 
evil,  the  turning  to  the  right  path,  the  leaving  alone  of  the  evil, 
wretched  things  of  the  past ;  and  then  when  the  man  has  arisen 
and  has  taken  his  stand  for  God,  He  will  come  and  help  him.  God 
can  transform  the  heart  of  man  today  and  remove  the  stain  and 
impress  of  evil  from  it;  his  heart  can  be  cleansed  and  made  ten- 
der and  pure  by  His  power;  the  man  whose  sight  is  blinded  by 
evil  can  have  it  restored  to  him ;  the  man  who  has  been  unable 
to  walk  in  the  straight  path  can  be  made  to  walk  by  the  heavenly 
power  of  God.  I  don't  want  to  get  away  from  that  truth.  And 
now  look  here,  boys,  here  is  one  that  knows  that  however  power- 
ful the  friend  who  promises  to  help  you  when  you  get  out,  how- 
ever strong  your  will  that  you  are  going  to  work  out  your  own 
salvation,  and  however  strong  the  financial  backing  given  you, 
if  you  go  without  this  higher  help  of  God  you  are  bound  to  fail. 
You  cannot  reach  that  goal  which  should  be  the  goal  of  every 
human  soul  without  the  aid  of  God's  strength. 

A  STORY  WITH  A  POINT. 

My  son  recently  told  me  a  story  which  he  had  read  in  one 
of  the  magazines  and  which  some  of  you  may  have  read.  It 
struck  me  as  a  story  with  a  point.  It  was  the  story  of  a  teacher 
who  was  giving  a  lesson  in  geography  to  a  class  of  unruly  boys, 
and  in  order  that  she  might  interest  them,  she  was  telling  them 
of  a  good1  traveler  who  was  traveling  in  foreign  lands,  especially 
in  the  wonderful  country  of  Italy,  and  of  what  he  did  in  the  an- 
cient city  of  Rome,  and  among  other  things  made  this  state- 
ment :  Every  morning  before  breakfast  he  would  swim  three 
times  across  the  Tiber.  One  little  boy  giggled  at  this  and  she 
asked  him  what  he  was  laughing  at.  He  said,  "Teacher,  I  only 
wondered  why  he  didn't  make  it  four  times  and  land  where  his 
clothes  were."  (Laughter.)  Now,  there  are  lots  of  people  in 
life  who  are  not  practical ;  they  don't  go  far  enough.  They  say, 
"Here  is  a  man  who  is  making  a  mistake  in  his  life ;  we  will  take 
him  and  teach  him,  cram  his  head  full  of  knowledge  and  he  will 
be  all  right."  Another  says,  "No,  it  is  his  body  that  needs  treat- 
ment. We  will  take  him  and  diet  him,  put  him  on  peanuts,  and 
that  sort  of  thing."  But  this  will  not  do.  They  can  get  his 
physical  body  into  splendid  condition,  but  if  his  heart  is  wrong  he 
will  go  to  the  devil  with  that  strong  body. 

.Boys,  here's  what  I  want  to  say  to  you.  Look  this  question 
squarely  in  the  face,  have  the  courage  to  look  into  your  own 
hearts  and  ask  yourselves  the  question:  Do  I  want  to  do  right? 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  315 

Do  I  want  to  be  good?  Do  I  want  to  be  upright?  And  if  you 
find  you  do  not  want  to  continue  in  darkness  bring  your  heart 
and  mind  and  soul  to  God  and  let  Him  straighten  your  tangled 
life.  And  when  you  get  out  into  the  world  you  can  send  back 
words  of  cheer  to  those  behind  you — "All  is  well,  all  is  well." 
I  have  seen  the  men  who  have  fallen  short,  and  I  have  seen  the 
men  who  have  gone  through  and  made  good.  And  I  bring  you 
the  news — it  is  those  who  started  right,  who  have  learned  their 
own  weakness,  and  know  from  experience  that  the  crooked  way 
does  not  pay,  have  put  their  lives  into  God's  hands  and  are  will- 
ing to  walk  the  straight  path  with  His  help,  His  grace  and  His 
strength. 

MY  BOY. 

And  now,  comrades,  another  word  I  want  to  say.  It  pays 
a  man  to  do  right  for  his  own  sake,  to  say  nothing  of  those  who 
love  him  ;  why  not  save  yourself  from  future  suffering,  failure 
and  punishment,  by  starting  out  right  and  keeping  on  the  level? 
But  I  tell  you,  for  the  sake  of  your  own  dear  ones  it  is  a  thousand 
times  more  important.  I  wish  you  could  see  what  I  have  seen 
in  this  State  of  yours.  I  have  been  down  south  and  I  have  met 
and  spoken  to  thousands  of  people.  And  afterwards  many  of 
them  came  and  shook  hands  with  me.  Among  them  was  one 
good  woman  who  got  hold  of  my  hand  and  clung  to  it,  unable 
to  speak — just  sobbed — and  I  knew  who  she  was.  When  they 
recover  their  voices  it  is  always  the  story  of  a  boy  or  husband 
who  has  just  been  sent  up;  and  I  take  them  to  the  back  of  the 
hall  and  sit  down  by  them  and  when  I  see  them  shaking  with 
sobs  and  with  tears  pouring  down  their  cheeks,  I  say,  "God  help 
me  to  speak  to  these  boys,  so  that  they  will  remember  this  dear 
old  mother,  or  loving  wife  and  the  promises  made  at  the  altar 
that  they  would  protect  her;  and  that  they  may  come  out  of 
prison  the  kind  of  men  that  these  loving,  tender  women  would 
have  them."  I  will  tell  you  an  incident  that  gave  me  a  great  deal 
of  joy  and  happiness.  It  was  one  bright,  summer  day.  f  was 
going  to  Hope  Hall.  It  was  a  holiday.  Our  Hope  Hall  is  a 
beautiful  farm  situated  about  an  hour  from  Xew  York.  On  all 
the  holidays  the  boys  come  home — that  is,  those  who  can.  and 
bring  their  wives  and  mothers  and  little  children,  and  Hope  Hall 
presents  a  very  beautiful  sight,  with  all  this  happy  company 
gathered  there  on  the  wide  green  lawns  and  under  the  trees.  The 
athletic  graduates  come  back  to  beat  the  home  team  at  baseball, 
and  we  have  a  silver  cup  for  which  they  compete  and  there  is  a 
great  deal  of  excitement  on  the  ball  grounds  on  these  gala  days. 
On  this  occasion  I  saw  a  young  fellow  helping  an  old  woman  off 


316  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 


the  train.  She  was  evidently  very  feeble.  He  gave  her  his  arm 
and  brought  her  to  my  carriage  and  his  face  lighted  up  and  he 
said:  "Little  Mother,  let  me  introduce  you  to  my  mother."  She 
took  hold  of  my  hands  with  her  own  shaking  hands.  She  was 
losing  her  sight,  and  she  said :  "Are  you  really  'The  Little 
Mother?'"  I  said:  "Yes,  I  am."  She  said,  "I  want  to  thank 
you  for  my  boy."  (Applause.)  She  sat  down  beside  me.  and 
when  we  got  to  Hope  Hall  I  watched  that  couple.  He  had  been 
graduated,  leaving  the  Home  about  a  year  before  that  day  and 
his  mother  had  never  seen  the  home  that  was  his  starting  place. 
He  took  her  all  over  the  place;  he  took  her  down  through  the 
great  long  dining-room,  to  the  very  table  at  which  he  sat,  be- 
cause she  wanted  to  see  the  very  seat  in  which  he  sat ;  then  he 
took  her  through  the  parlors  and  out  into  the  flower  gardens ; 
he  showed  her  the  beautiful  white  pigeons,  and  the  horses,  and 
the  cows,  and  the  chickens — and  even  to  the  pig-sty  to  show 
her  the  new  litter  of  baby  pigs.  (Applause  and  laughter.)  Then 
he  took  her  up  the  stairs  and  showed  her  his  room  and  his  own 
little  white  bed ;  and  then  he  brought  her  back  into  my  room 
where  I  was  talking  to  some  of  the  boys,  and  he  strolled  off  to 
talk  to  some  of  the  boys.  She  sat  down  by  me  and  taking  her 
hand  in  my  own,  I  said  :  "Now,  tell  me,  is  your  boy  a  comfort 
to  you?"  Her  face  brightened  up  and  she  smiled  joyfully  and 
said:  "Indeed  he  is;  yes,  yes.  Oh,  Little  Mother,  I  cannot  tell 
you  what  a  difference  it  has  made  to  me.  He  is  just  as  good  and 
thoughtful  as  he  can  be."  And  when  she  poured  out  the  story 
of  what  the  boy  had  been  and  what  he  then  was,  the  good  and 
wonderful  change  that  had  taken  place  in  him.  my  mind  went 
back  to  what  that  boy  had  been — the  same  old  story,  prison 
again  and  again,  said  by  the  self-righteous  to  be  a  hopeless  crim- 
inal, through  and  through  and  I  knew  what  power  it  was  that 
had  touched  and  transformed  that  life. 

A  TRANSFORMED  LIFE. 

After  dinner  we  gathered  in  the  parlor  for  a  little  meeting, 
before  going  to  the  ball  grounds,  and  one  or  two  of  the  boys  who 
had  gone  forth,  who  were  graduates  of  the  1  Ionic,  in  that  little 
meeting  gave  their  experiences.  Xow,  I  do  not  believe  in  taking 
our  boys  and  having  them  tell  in  public  all  about  their  past, 
marking  them  as  prisoners.  I  believe  when  a  man  goes  out  of 
prison  lie  is  a  free  man  and  all  memory  of  the  past  is  gone  ;  the 
world  should  know  nothing  about  it;  he  should  have  a  good 
square  chance.  P>ut  on  this  day  there  was  no  one  at  Hope  Hall, 
who  was  not  connected  with  the  prison — I  mean  everybody  had 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  317 

been  there,  or  had  clear  ones  there  ;  and  one  of  these  old  gradu- 
ates talked  to  the  other  boys  about  their  work  and  their  lives, 
encouraging  them  with  words  of  hope  and  urging  them  to  be 
brave  of  heart  and  to  remember  the  great  law  above  them  and 
to  look  forward  to  the  unknown  future.  lie  said,  "Boys,  I  am 
not  much  of  a  speaker,  but  I  can't  let  this  chance  go.  I  want 
to  tell  you  all  that  God  means  to  me.  You  knew  me  at  Dana- 
mora,  and  knew  me  as  an  old-timer;  you  knew  that  I  had  been 
there  over  and  over  again,  and  I  had  never  thought  of  the  other 
and  new  life  until  my  last  time  there  in  prison  and  I  decided  if 
I  ever  was  to  take  my  stand  it  was  then,  and  I  made  up  my  mind 
to  begin  the  new  life  and  join  the  Volunteer  Prison  League,  and 
I  did,  and  I  came  out  of  prison  and  came  to  this  Home  and  put 
my  life  entirely  in  the  Little  Mother's  hands,  and  when  I  was 
graduated  and  went  to  my  employer  he  knew  all  about  my  past 
and  was  willing  to  trust  me  and  since  then  I  have  had  three 
raises  in  salary  and  have  had  his  trust  and  confidence  and  today 
I  am  foreman  over  700  men  and  overseeing  one  of  the  most  im- 
portant jobs  in  New  York  City,  and  have  the  trust  of  those  who 
know  me.  God  has  enabled  me  to  make  good.  I  can't  tell  you 
what  this  means  to  me.  but  if  you  want  to  know  what  my  life 
is  today,  there  is  my  old  mother;  she  can  tell  you."  And  I  saw 
the  tears  coursing  down  his  mother's  cheeks  and  as  she  sat  down 
I  saw  him  slip  his  hand  into  hers  and  the  poor  old  broken  mother 
knew  that  her  boy  was  making  good  ;  as  they  sat  there  holding 
each  other's  hands  the  tears  were  falling  and  I  wondered  if  there 
wasn't  a  rainbow  in  them. 

And  as  I  looked  at  these  two,  I  said  to  myself,  "It  is  worth 
while;  all  the  tens  of  thousands  of  miles  I  have  traveled,  all  the 
money  I  have  spent  is  worth  while;  all  the  misunderstandings 
we  have  had  to  live  down — it  is  all  worth  while  for  that  one  boy 
and  his  mother's  heart:  but  I  am  not  going  to  stop  there;  there 
are  thousands  of  other  boys  and  thousands  of  breaking  mothers' 
hearts,  and  I  want  all  those  boys  redeemed  for  the  mother  that 
bore  them,  who  love  them  and  believe  in  them."  1  cannot  begin 
to  tell  you  how  many  mothers  have  come  to  me.  in  my  little 
office,  and  related  their  sad  stories  to  me.  and  SOUK-  who  do  know 
may  think  that  the  mothers  would  lose  confidence  and  say  :  "(  m. 
he  is  such  a  good  for  nothing,  he  has  broken  my  heart  and  he 
has  been  so  wicked,  and  has  done  so  many  things  1  told  him 
not  to  do,  and  he  does  not  love  me."  And  is  that  true.J  Ah. 
no!  that  is  not  what  they  say.  They  say:  "Mrs.  Booth,  he  is 
lots  better  than  people  give  him  credit  for.  and  you  know  he 
was  such  a  good  little  bov  and  was  so  handsome  and  had  such 


318  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

a  gentle  heart ;  and  he  had  such  a  hard  time  at  prison,  and  he  can 
be  anything1  he  wants  to  be,  if  he  will  only  turn  around  and  do 
right."  This  is  the  true  mother  eyes:  they  see  all  the  good  in 
him  and  try  to  protect  and  cover  up  all  the  bad. 

ADVICE  FROM  "LITTLE  MOTHER." 

Now,  boys,  I  say,  for  the  sake  of  these  mothers,  and  for  the 
sake  of  these  wives,  who  still  love  you,  and  for  the  sake  of  the 
dear  little  children  who  are  crying  for  Papa,  who  has  gone  away, 
they  do  not  know  where,  I  say,  rise  up  and  be  a  man  and  prove 
to  these  dear  ones  that  you  are  what  they  think  you  are.  Come ! 
Reject  the  evil,  give  up  the  horrid  thing,  whatever  it  was,  that 
bound  you  to  the  crooked  ways,  and  however  hard  the  fight  may 
prove,  fight  it  through  like  a  man  ;  however  difficult  it  may  seem 
you  can  do  it ;  it  is  in  your  power  to  make  your  lives  in  the  fu- 
ture what  you  will.  You  may  say:  "No,  it  is  not  in  my  power; 
I  have  lost  my  self  will;  I  was  a  drunkard  for  so  many  years; 
I  have  lived  in  evil  places  for  so  long  and  have  been  under  the 
influences  of  the  Evil  One  for  so  long  that  it  has  spoiled  my 
life,  and  so  I  cannot  help  it  now."  Oh,  yes,  you  can  ;  take  the 
little  bit  of  will  you  have  left  and  exercise  it  and  hold  the  reins 
tight ;  get  back  your  own  spirit  while  you  are  in  prison ;  make 
every  day  count ;  do  your  work  as  well  as  you  can ;  hold  your 
temper ;  guard  your  lips  closely  from  the  wretched,  evil,  blas- 
phemous words ;  cleanse  your  mind  of  the  wicked  thoughts  that 
tempt  you.  If  you  do  these  things,  with  God's  love  and  grace 
you  can  make  good ;  the  future  is  yours ;  the  blessings  of  peace 
will  enfold  you  and  good  fortune  will  smile  upon  you.  If  you 
realize  what  the  building  of  the  foundation  meant,  the  founda- 
tion of  a  good  and  upright  character,  and  what  it  would  mean 
to  you  ten  years  hence,  you  would  make  this  day  here  and  now 
a  starting  point  for  the  new  life. 

THE  HELPING  HAND  BETRAYED. 

I  am  reminded  of  an  architect,  famous  for  his  skill  and  won- 
derful work,  who  had  had  a  great  business  and  many  friends  and 
had  prospered.  One  day  he  found  himself  standing  the  wreck 
and  ruin  of  bankruptcy;  everything  was  slipping  from  him,  his 
business  was  gone,  his  money  was  gone  and  all  his  fairweather 
friends  had  forsaken  him  ;  he  found  himself  down  and  out.  Just 
at  that  time  he  received  a  letter  from  a  chum  of  his  boyhood  days, 
an  old  school  chum,  who  had  also  prospered,  and  wras  then  a  mil- 
lionaire. He  urged  and  begged  him  to  come  to  his  office,  that  he 
wanted  to  see  him,  and  this  poor  fellow,  bowed  down  under  his 
discouragements  and  failure,  went  to  his  friend.  His  old  friend 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  319 

met  him  with  the  old-time  hearty  grip  of  the  hand  and  sat  and 
talked  with  him  and  said,  "I  sympathize  with  you  and  want  to 
help  you.  Now,  I  think  the  most  proper  way  I  can  help  you  is 
to  give  you  a  contract  to  build  my  house."  Naturally,  as  things 
go  in  this  world,  the  fact  of  his  building  this  mansion  for  a  mil- 
lionaire, the  people's  confidence  would  be  restored.  He  said,  "I 
know  nothing  about  these  things ;  you  draw  the  plans  and  su- 
pervise the  work ;  select  what  material  you  will  need  ;  show  me 
what  you  want  and  I  will  sign  the  checks.  I  will  leave  it  abso- 
lutely in  your  hands.  I  will  trust  you."  So  the  man  went  out 
very  much  cheered  and  drew  the  plans  for  this  beautiful  house 
and  made  the  estimates  for  the  materials  for  the  building,  the 
furnishings,  the  shingles,  the  mortar  and  brick,  and  all  the  other 
things  that  I  do  not  know  anything  about.  And  when  he  had 
made  all  these  plans  and  estimates  there  came  temptation.  There 
must  have  been  a  crooked  streak  in  the  heart.  He  said:  "I 
have  drawn  these  estimates  and  I  am  going  to  get  the  money 
for  it.  I  can  put  in  cheaper  material ;  I  can  get  some  things 
cheaper  and  can  put  just  so  much  money  in  my  own  pocket  and 
my  friend  will  not  know  the  difference."  And  that  was  what  he 
did  ;  he  built  that  house  with  the  inferior  material  and  fixtures 
and  the  work  went  on  to  completion. 

When  the  house  was  finished  he  took  the  key  and  went  to 
the  office  of  his  friend  and  said:  "The  house  is  completed;  my 
work  is  done."  His  friend  turned  to  him,  saying:  "I  now  give 
you  the  key,  my  friend,  go  and  live  in  the  house.  I  meant  it  for 
you  all  the  time."  (Applause.) 

O,  boys,  boys,  think  of  it.  When  that  man,  living  in  that 
house,  saw  the  plaster  begin  to  crack,  the  windows  begin  to  rattle, 
the  doors  begin  to  warp,  the  floors  begin  to  creak ;  when  he  was 
confronted  with  his  own  shoddy,  imperfect  work,  which  his  eye 
could  detect,  think  of  the  condemnation  before  him  ;  he  was  the 
man  who  had  to  live  in  it ;  his  was  the  eye  that  was  offended  ; 
his  was  the  heart  that  knew  that  he  might  have  had  the  best 
that  would  have  stood  the  test  of  climate  and  time.  Instead  of 
that,  because  of  his  crookedness  of  heart,  willing  to  cheat  his 
friend,  he  had  to  live  in  a  house  that  was  not  sound,  that  showed 
his  crooked  way. 

ANOTHER  CHANCE. 

Now,  boys,  that  is  a  lesson  that  can  be  taken  home.  God 
says  rise  up,  here  is  a  chance;  you  have  got  life  still,  you  have 
got  strength  in  God,  in  spite  of  the  evil  and  crookedness  of  the 
past,  if  you  will  only  call  on  Him.  Hut  you  say:  "How  can  I 
do  it?  I  am  bankrupt;  I  haven't  the  will-power  or  strength." 


320  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

God  says,  Call  on  me  and  your  weakness  shall  be  made  strength 
by  me.  You  say,  "I  am  blind."  He  says,  "I  will  give  you  that 
which  you  need."  You  make  the  plans  and  go  to  him  and  he  will 
give  you  what  you  need.  And  remember  you  are  the  man  that 
must  live  in  that  house. 

If  you  go  out  of  here  the  same  man  that  you  came  in  here, 
the  same  evil  companions  will  lead  you  into  the  wrong  road.  If 
you  go  out  of  here  with  the  same  evil  appetites,  the  same  things 
will  appeal  to  you,  and  before  you  are  out  an  hour  you  will  be 
down  in  the  gutters  of  San  Francisco  and  you  will  be  saying, 
"Oh,  what  a  fool  I  am."  God  says,  "I  will  make  a  man  of  you 
if  you  will ;  I  will  give  you  the  strength ;  I  will  raise  you  up." 

Now,  dear  comrades,  it  must  be  man  working  with  man  ; 
God  working  in  man.  Shall  it  be?  Say,  shall  it?  The  world 
says:  "No  good  thing  can  come  from  a  prison."  The  world  lies. 
Every  man  of  you  can  go  out  with  a  good  heart  and  a  good  pur- 
pose. I  know  there  is  difficulty  in  waiting;  some  of  you  will 
have  a  hard  path.  I  have  worked  with  you  ;  I  know.  Some  of 
you  boys  will  have  to  work  hard  to  gain  a  competency,  but  it 
will  prove  a  blessing  to  you.  And  I  tell  you  this,  every  last  man 
of  you,  whether  you  are  educated  or  illiterate,  rich  or  poor, 
blessed  with  good  parents  and  a  good  home,  or  cursed  with  a 
wretched  heritage  from  boyhood  up,  any  man  of  you  who  will 
learn  his  lesson  and  earnestly  give  his  heart  to  God  and  trust 
Him  to  lead  you  and  to  go  to  Him  for  aid,  can  begin  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  ladder  right  now  and  go  up  and  up  until  the  world 
will  say,  "He  is  a  good  man  ;  we  can  trust  him." 

And,  ah,  boys,  remember  what  that  means  to  the  poor  fellow 
you  leave  behind  you.  The  boys  that  go  out  make  it  easier  or 
harder  for  the  boys  behind.  One  of  my  joys,  yes,  one  of  the 
chiefest  joys,  has  been  when  one  of  my  boys  has  been  given  a 
position  where  he  has  prospered  he  would  come  to  me  and  say: 
"Now,  Little  Mother,  let  me  help  some  other  boy."  And  I  can- 
not tell  you  how  often  the  telephone  has  rung  in  my  little  office 
and  they  have  said,  "I  want  a  good  boy  from  Hope  Hall ;  send 
him  along."  The  men  I  have  gotten  into  positions  of  this  sort 
say,  "I  have  a  chance  to  employ  laborers,  send  me  some  boy  that 
is  down  and  out."  and  that  docs  my  heart  good  and  makes  me 
feel  that  it  is  all  worth  while. 

A  CLOSING  WORD  AND  SONG. 

Now  I  must  close  this  meeting,  for  there  are  lots  of  boys 
outside  and  I  want  to  see  them  all.  lUit  before  we  part,  I  will 
give  you  my  word  that  I  will  do  all  1  can  for  you,  will  help  you 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  321 


all  I  can.  And  when  my  train  is  carrying  me  back,  back  across 
the  continent,  I  will  leave  some  of  my  heart  here  with  you  and 
I  shall  pray  to  God  daily  that  he  may  be  ever  near  you  and  with 
you  here  in  this  prison  to  give  you  strength  and  courage  to  fight 
the  good  fight  and  some  day  we  shall  all  meet  again,  if  not  here, 
hereafter.  And  I  think  sometimes  if,  when  I  get  to  Heaven,  I 
don't  see  my  boys  there,  I  shall  ask  God  to  send  me  back,  or 
down  to  the  other  place.  (Laughter.)  For  it  seems  to  me  that 
I  could  not  bear  to  be  there  without  seeing  those  to  whom  I  have 
given  this  message  of  hope  and  power,  and  to  know  that  they 
have  thrown  it  away  and  still  clinging  to  the  old  wretched  delu- 
sions and  evils,  had  gone,  despairing,  down  into  the  pitfalls  of 
wreck  and  ruin. 

Now,  just  for  a  moment,  I  want  you  to  bow  your  heads  in 
prayer ;  I  want  you  to  sing  the  old  rallying  song  of  the  Volunteer 
Prison  League,  but  before  we  sing,  I  want  to  ask  are  there  any 
men  here  this  morning  who  want  to  take  the  stand  for  the  new 
life.  I  do  not  mean  to  join  the  V.  P.  L.,  although  I  would  like 
for  you  to  do  this :  I  would  ask  that  you  stand  up  for  the  right. 
(Paused — then  pleadingly.)  Are  you  sick  of  the  old  life?  Are 
you  sick  of  the  crooked  way?  Do  you  want  to  do  right?  Are  you 
willing  to  stand  up,  not  only  before  me,  but  now,  in  God's  pres- 
ence. Are  there  any  who  will  take  this  stand?  Can't  you  look 
back  and  see  the  face  of  your  dear  old  mother  whom  you  loved, 
who  prayed  over  you  in  childhood  and  for  her  sake  take  your 
stand?  (One  by  one  the  men  stood  up.)  Let  us  sing  this  song 
with  bowed  heads.  If  there  is  any  man  who  would  take  his  stand, 
let  him  do  so  while  we  sing.  (As  the  audience  sang,  "Nearer, 
My  God,  to  Thee,"  other  men  arose.) 


11 


Probation  and  the  Child 

By  John   L.   Maile 

of  the  Probation  Committee 

When  parental  life  becomes  seriously  strained,  or  misad- 
justed  to  the  breaking  point,  the  child  is  bound  to  be  a  sufferer. 
If  in  such  case  parents  are  without  resource,  skill  or  controlling 
loyalty  to  the  little  ones  involved,  the  latter  must  go  along  a 
sorrowful  way. 

Often  great  peril  to  body  and  to  mind  is  incurred.  Suitable 
food  and  raiment  may  be  wanting.  Perhaps  surrounding  associ- 
ations are  greatly  demoralizing.  Altogether  the  children  of  trag- 
edy in  real  life  are  as  the  craft  that  is  stranded  on  the  bar,  or  is 
impaled  in  the  rock-bound  surf. 

To  save  children  from  ancestral  disaster  is  the  province  of 
probation  work.  In  the  year  1903  this  form  of  philanthropy  was 
established  by  law  in  Los  Angeles  county  under  the  administra- 
tion of  Judge  Curtis  D.  Wilbur.  Large  progress  has  been  made 
in  the  protection  and  guidance  of  child  life.  The  great  range  of 
facts  adduced  in  this  volume  amply  proves  this  assertion. 

Our  juvenile  court  and  its  adjuncts  is  performing  alert  and 
comprehensive  service  for  parents  and  children  who  are  in  need 
of  supervising  care.  The  Board  of  Supervisors  generously  inter- 
prets in  terms  of  financial  support  the  desire  of  the  tax-paying 
public  that  the  socially  unfortunate  or  erring  members  of  society 
shall  be  given  a  renewed  chance. 

In  Juvenile  Hall,  which  is  a  new  building  of  generous  dimen- 
sions, a  real  home  life  is  being  successfully  developed.  Obedi- 
ence, cleanliness,  order,  schooling,  manual  training  and  house- 
hold arts  are  being  developed,  while  gardening  and  other  out- 
of-door  activities  are  practiced.  Think  for  a  moment  of  the  value 
to  the  individual  and  to  society  of  wholesome  juvenile  life. 

Care-worn  adult  life  is  in  need  of  the  friendship  of  a  child 
for  its  own  renewal  and  refreshment.  In  the  beginning  artless, 
honest,  sincere,  with  no  diplomatic  reservations,  the  little  one 
carries  his  heart  on  his  sleeve  to  those  who  have  obtained  his 
confidence  and  we  prize  the  numberless  unstudied  ways  of  the 
working  of  the  child  mind  and  imagination.  Thus  we  are  taken 
back  to  the  forgotten  realm  of  our  own  childhood  and  by  the  re- 
mainder may  be  renewed  in  the  spirit  of  our  mind. 

True  to  nature  and  the  laws  that  should  govern  the  human 


JUDGE  GEO.  H.  HUTTON 

Now  presiding-  in  Department  11,  to  which  criminal  cases  are  assigned 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  323 

soul  was  the  Great  Teacher  who  said  of  the  little  child,  "Of  such 
is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

What  sacrilege  is  committed  in  the  wrongs  visited  upon 
helpless  children  and  how  appealing  to  our  sense  of  right  are  their 
physical  and  moral  necessities.  The  social  ministry  involved 
in  probation  work  brings  to  both  parent  and  child  the  helping 
hand  in  the  time  of  break-down  and  in  the  spirit  of  compassion 
gives  a  renewed  chance  to  make  good  in  life's  strenuous  battle. 
Who  does  not  see  that  a  new  spirit  has  come  into  modern  munici- 
pal life? 


Probation  for  the   Insane 

* 

By  Judge  George   H.   Hutton 

Now  Sitting  in  Department  I  I  Hearing  Criminal  (Jases 

For  several  years  it  was  my  duty  as  well  as  my  privilege  to 
relieve  Judge  Wilbur  during  the  summer  vacation  and  at  other 
times  and  act  as  judge  of  the  juvenile  court  for  him  at  his  request. 
During  these  periods  I  learned  the  value  of  probation  work  as 
I  had  never  realized  or  known  before.  When  I  took  charge  of 
the  Insanity  Court,  May  1st,  1911,  I  immediately  began  to  invoke 
the  principles  so  successfully  carried  out  in  the  juvenile  court, 
and  applied  those  principles  to  nervous  cases  that  were  brought 
before  the  Lunacy  Commission.  The  result  has  been  that  dur- 
ing the  first  year  of  the  operation  of  this  work,  sixty-five  women 
have  been  successfully  handled  on  parole.  This  means  that  sixty- 
five  women  bordering  on  mental  disorder,  but  not  yet  arrived  at 
that  stage,  have  been  cared  for,  protected  and  cured,  and  saved 
from  the  horrors  of  a  lunatic  asylum.  It  means  that  their  rela- 
tives and  families  unto  the  third  and  fourth  generations  have 
been  spared  the  knowledge  of  a  relative  who  has  been  in  a 
lunatic  asylum.  This  work  is  in  its  infancy.  It  has  been  carried 
on  by  the  Psychopathic  Parole  Society,  a  product  of  the  Federa- 
tion of  Women's  Clubs,  actively  handled  by  Mrs.  H.  C.  Stock- 
well,  Mrs.  O.  P.  Clark,  Mrs.  Slater,  Mrs.  Baurhyte,  Dr.  Park 
and  Mrs.  Jean  G.  McCracken.  I  believe  that  every  social  organi- 
zation, whose  object  is  the  betterment  of  mankind,  should  take 
a  keen  interest  in  the  work  of  parole,  and  do  its  share  in  further- 
ance thereof. 


"f  can  claim  on  my  side  that  if  I  realize 
what  I  have  suffered,  society  should 
realize  what  it  has  inflicted  on  me;  and 
there  should  be  no  bitterness  or  hate  on 
either  side. 

OSCAR  WILDC, 

— de  Profundis 


The  Juvenile  Court  plan  will  never 
be  abandoned,  but  it  is  by  no  means  the 
last  word  in  juvenile  improvement  or 
criminology.  I  look  forward  to  see  Y. 
M.  C.  A.  secretaries,  physicians,  school 
teachers,  playground  officials,  so  educated, 
that  with  new  equipment,  children  will  be 
so  treated  with  the  "ounce  of  prevention" 
that  the  "pound  of  cure"  will  be  unnec- 
essary in  most  cases. 

JUDGE  WILBUR, 

—  Willovobreok  Address 


Index 


Adult  Probation  Law,  Sec.  1203,  Penal  Code 

(Seejuvenile  Court  Law  as  to  Probation  up  to  18;  also  from 
18  to  21  in  certain  cases.) 

All  cases  where  court  has  discretion  as  to  punishment 225 

Procedure — Application    225 

Referred   to    Probation    Officer   or   not 225 

Investigation  by  Probation  Officer 225,  228 

Report    by    : 228 

Hearing  on   notice 225 

May  suspend  sentence 225 

Or  execution    225 

Term  not  to  exceed  maximum  term  of  sentence 225 

But  see  Adult  Contributory  Case,  Sec.  26 64,  224 

Bond  may  be  required,  Sec.  26 64,  228 

Bond  may  be  exonerated,  Sec.  26 64 

Probation  officer  to  have   supervision 226 

In   cases   of   fine   with   alternate   imprisonment 226 

Written  instruction  to  be  furnished   probationer 228 

Procedure  for  revocation  of  probation 226,  239 

May  arrest   without   warrant 226 

Revoked  in  what  cases 226 

Term  may  be  extended  instead  of  revoked 89 

Procedure  in  case  of  successful  probation 227 

Court  may  terminate  at  any  time 

Court  must  allow  defendant  to  withdraw  plea  or  must  set 

aside  conviction,  if  probationer  has  been  faithful 229 

Probation   Officer  of  County  serves  in   every  court 227 

Probation   conditions  usually  imposed 234 

Adult   Probation,  suggestions  by   New  York   Commission 224 

Abandoned   Children    177 

Policy    concerning    177 

Actors, 

Children  under  16  not  to  be  employed  as  Sec.  272  P.  C 154 

Employers  guilty   of   misdemeanor    154 

Parent     or     guardian     permitting     guilty     of     misdemeanor,     Sec 

272  P.  C 154 

Adenoids    40.  44.   53 

Advice    from    "Little    Mother"    to   convicts 316 

Adult   Contributory   Law,   Sec.  26,  Juvenile    Court    Law 89.   110 

Adult    Contributory    Law   adopted    from    Colorado 64 


326  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

Adult  Probation,  introduction   40,  60,  70,  85,  224,  233 

Adult  Probation   Law   (for  person  over  18) 225 

Adult  Probation  Statement  by  Judge  Frank  R.  Willis 

Some  results  of  Adult   Probation 233 

Statement  by   Judge    Paul   McCormick 

Adult  Probation  in  Los  Angeles  County 237 

Opinion  by  Judge  Wilbur  denying   Probation 

People   vs.    Ruby   Casselman 229 

Statement  by  Judge  Curtis  D.  Wilbur 60 

Statement  by  A.   C.   Dodds  258 

Cost  of,  compared 247,  261 

Failures,   percentage    of 40,   259 

Specific  instance   related    240 

Adult  Probation  in  Justices  and   Police  Courts 70 

Adult  Females  under  21    77 

Adult   Department   created 85,   86 

Adventure,  Spirit  of  in  Boys 210 

Aim  of  Juvenile  Court  Law  Stated  by  Supreme  Court 90 

Alcohol    201 

Ambition  Stimulated   117 

Another  Chance    317 

Aphorisms  by  the  Judge 168,  173,  174 

Aphorisms  by  the  Probation  Officers 169,  170 

Aphorisms  by  the  Physician 171,  172 

Appointment  of  Probation  Officer,  System  Discussed 84 

Arrests,  Powers  of  Probation  Officers 56,  93 

Auble>  Capt.  Assassination  of 33 

Attorneys  in  Juvenile  Court   (See  Lawyers) 79 

Attorneys   are   Helpful 80 

Expense   of  Saved 79 

Attorneys'  Examination  of  Witnesses  by  Judge 80 

Attorneys  May  Examine  Probation  Officers'  Reports 81,  228 

Attendance  Officer. 

In   Districts  Having  600  Children Sec.  4,   157 

Salary   of    Sec.    4,   157 

Number  of   Sec.  4,  157 

Cells,    Separate    Needed 36 

Child  Labor  Law,  Enforcement  Address 190 

Cigarettes    27,   61,   100 

Contributing  to  Delinquencies  or  Dependency  by  Adults 110 

See  Adult  Contributory  Law. 

Corporal    Punishment    23 

Story    Concerning    23 

Cottage  System  of  Orphanages,  Good  but  Expensive 187 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  327 

Cost  to  State  of  Dependency 178,  179 

Crime    Easy    34 

Crime  Problem,  One  of  Pathology 184 

Criminal  Cases  in  Superior  Court,  Persons  Over  18 77 

Criminals,  Caught  Ones  Are 52 

Criminals,   Not  Caught 52 

Criminals,    All    Are 34 

Bad  Boy  Who  Made  Good,  Story  of 102,  103 

Bail,  Not  Required  Unless  Necessary 94 

Bail,  When  Not  Required,  Rule  15 94 

Baltimore,  Wages  of  Prisoners  in 47 

Ballad  of   Reading  Goal 36  et  seq. 

Barbarity  of  Common  Law,  Concerning  Children 15,   18,   118. 

Barrows,  Sam  J 207 

Address  by    41 

Befriending   Boys,   Difficulty 97 

Betrayal  of  Helping  Hand 316 

Blind  Children  Must  Go  to  School Sec.   10,   165 

Blue  Law,  Concerning  Incorrigible  Children 17 

Board   of  Examiners    (State) 178,  182 

Board  of  Health  (State) 184 

Booth,  Maud  Ballington,  Address  by 306 

Boys,  Addresses  to — 

By  Gov.  James   N.   Gillette 112 

By  Judge  Joseph  W.   Hughes 123 

By  Judge  Frank  J.   Murasky 114 

By  Judge  Curtis  D.  Wilbur 118 

Boys,  Good  and  Bad 119,  284,  285 

A  Live   Problem 197 

Boys'    Building    115 

Physical  Basis  for  Irritability  of.  Address 283,  297 

Boys,  The   State's   Little    Brother 115 

Be   1  lonest  and   I  lappy 116 

Byram,  Mrs.   Frances  H. — Assignment  of.   Rule   12 93 

Caught  Criminals    52 

Capital    Punishment     33 

California  Juvenile   Court   Law   Operative   Throughout    Entire    State..    18 

California  and    Her  Dependent   Children 177 

Cause    of   Dependency    and    Delinquency    (See    Children). 

Cause  of  Dependency   and   Delinquency 22,  99 

Character    Building    Slow 121 

Child  Labor  Law  Helpful 205 

Chicago    Juvenile    Court 44,  299 


328  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

CHILD  LABOR  LAW. 

(See  Also  Labor  Child  Law.) 

Actors,   Sec.  5 153 

Arrested  and  Turned  Over  to  School  Authorities,  Sec.  1 166 

Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,  Sec.  3,  Page  152,  Sec.  6 153 

Child  Under  12  Not  Allowed  to  Work  in  Certain  Places.    Sec.  2..  148 
Child  Over  12  and  Under  15  Years  of  Age  in  Cases  of  Sickness  of 
Parent — Permit  Issued  by  Judge  of  Juvenile  Court.     Sec.  2.  ..148 

Permit  for  Child  Under  15.     Sec.  2 149 

Permit  to  be  Kept  in  File.     Sec.  2 149 

Inspection,  Open  for,  by  Probation  Officer  and  Attendance  Offi- 
cers.     Sec.    2 149 

Inspection  to  be  Ordered  by  Magistrate  if  Refused.     Sec  2 149 

Child  Over  12  May  Have  Vacation  Permit.     Sec.  2 149 

Vacation    Permit   by   Principal,   Vice   Principal   or   Secretary  of 

Board  of  Trustees  or  Board  of  Education.     Sec.  2 149 

Form  of.     Sec.  2 150 

Child  Under  16  Cannot  be  Employed  During  School  Hours  if  Il- 
literate.     Sec.   2 150 

Unless  He  Attends  Night  School.     Sec.  2 150 

Child  Over  15  Required  to  Have  an  Age  and  Schooling  Certificate. 

Sec.  3    150 

Duplicates  to  be  Filed.     Sec.  3 151 

Who  May  Issue.     Sec.  3 150 

Misdemeanor  to  Issue  False  Certificate.     Sec.  3 152 

Misdemeanor  for  Employer  to  Disobey  Law.     Sec.  4 153 

Statistics  to  be  Filed  with  Bureau.     Sec.  3 152 

Child  Under    18   Not   Allowed   to   Work    Between    10    P.    M.   and 

5  A.  M.     Sec.  2 148,  155 

Labor  Limited  to  9  Hours  Per  Day  Under  18  Years.     Sec.  1 149 

Labor  Limited  to  54  Hours  Per  Week  Under  18  Years.     Sec.  1..149 
Labor    Limited    to  9    Hours    Between    5    A.    M.    and    10    P.    M. 

Sec.   1    149 

School  Attendance  Required  Until  Permit  or  Age  and  Schooling 

Certificate    Issued.'   Sec.   3a 152 

Child   Quitting  Work  for  a  Week,  Officers   Issuing   Permit   to  be 

Notified.     Sec.  3a 152 

Attendance  Officers  to  be  Notified.     Sec.  3a 152 

Labor  Prohibited  Over  Nine  Hours — 

Manufacturing  Establishment.     Sec.    1 148 

Mechanical   Establishment.      Sec.    1 148 

Mercantile  Establishment.     Sec.   1 148 

Other  Places  of  Labor.     Sec.  1 148 

Labor  Prohibited  When  Under  15,  Kinds  of.     Sec.  2..  ..148 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  329 

Labor  Not  Prohibited — 

Agricultural,  When  Schools  Not  in  Session.     Sec.  5 153 

Domestic,  When  Schools  Not  in  Session.     Sec.  5 153 

Horticultural,  When  Schools  Not  in  Session.     Sec.  5 153 

Viticultural,  When  Schools  Not  in  Session.     Sec.  5 153 

Actors    Otherwise     Permitted    May    Continue    Up    to     12    P.     M. 

Sec.   5    153 

Child  Labor  Law  and  Its  Enforcement — Decision  on 196 

Address  by  State  Labor  Commissioner 190 

Children,  Age  of — 

Under  7,   Not   Responsible   Criminally 11 

Under  8,  Cannot  be   Sent   to   Reform   School.     Sec.  20 144 

Under   14,   Strong  Presumption   of  Innocence 11 

Under  14,  Cannot  be  Sent  to  State   Prison 144 

Under  16,  Cannot  be  Sent  to  Jail  Until  Convicted.    Sec.  24 145 

Under  16,  Must  be  Kept  Separate  from  Adults  in  Jail 145 

Under  18,  Must  be  Tried  in  Juvenile  Court.     Sec.  17 141 

Under  21  and  Over  18,  May  be  Tried  in  Juvenile  Court 77 

Or  Criminal   Court 77 

Under    12,    Cannot    Labor 148 

Under  15  and  Under  12,  Labor  Permits  by  Juvenile  Court  Judge.  148 
Under  16  and  Over  15,  Labor  Permits  by  Board  of  Education ..  150 

Over  12,  Vacation  Permits 149 

Under  18,  Hours  of  Labor 148,   155 

Children,  Sending  for  Runaway.     Rule  13 .•  93 

Training  in  Juvenile  Court , 98 

Children,  Attitude  Toward  Juvenile  Court 6,   16,  22 

Children,  Each  a  Separate   Problem 101 

Children's   Respect  for   Law 16,  22 

Children    Not   to    Blame 19,  40 

Children,    Institutionalizing   of 105 

Children,  Disobedient  and  Dependent 60 

Children,  Saved  from  Jails 

Children's    Home    Society 

Church  and  Sunday  School 202,  217 

Citizens,  Importance  of  Good 

Circumcision    .  .99.  288.  2SO 

Citizenship,   Restoring  to,   After    Probation 

Classifying  Children,  Fallacy  of 1 19.  288,  289 

Classifying    Men,    Fallacy    of 

Cocaine,   Messenger   Boys  Users  of 

Colorado,  Adult    Contributory   Law   Adopted   by   California.. 

Constitutionality  of  Law. .  .61,  62.  70 

Cost  of  Two  Los  Angeles  Degenerates 231 


330  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

Cost   of   Sin — An   Address 243 

Court  Orders,  see  Orders. 

Criticism  of  Law,  Judge  and  Court 74 

Under  14  in  Juvenile  Court,  Percentage  Under  Law  of  1903-7. ..  .221 

Compulsory  School  Law  Helpful  (see  Special  Index  post) 205 

Convict's  Letter  Asking  for  Parole,  Amusing 42 

COMPULSORY  SCHOOL  LAW.** 

Age  Required  to  Attend  Eight  to  Fifteen.    Sec.  1 155 

Excuses — 

Attendance  at  Private  School  Excuses.     Sec.  1 156 

Being  Tutored  or  Taught  at  Home.     Sec.  1 156 

Certificate  of  Physician.     Sec.  1 156 

If  Bodily  or  Mental  Conditions  Render  Attendance  Unwise  How 

Excused.     Sec.  1 156,   159 

School  Two  Miles  Away  Excuses  Completion  of  Grammar  Course 

Excuses.     Sec.    1 156,    159 

Storm.      Sec.    1 156 

Deaf,    Dumb    and    Blind    Children    Send    to    State    Institution    5    years. 

Sec.    10 165 

Parent  May  be  Fined  and  Imprisoned.     Sec.  2 157 

Parent  Unable  to  Compel  May  File  Affidavit.     Sec.  1 156 

Parental  School,  Now  Established Sec.  7  161 

Sec.  8  163 

Parental  School,  When  Assigned  to.     Sec.   1 156 

Parental  School,  When  Committed  to.     Sec.  6 159,  160 

Parental  School,  Established  How.     Sec.  6 159 

School  Board,  Clerk,  or  Secretary  to  Prosecute  Parent.     Sec.  3 157 

Truant  Defined.     Sec.  5 157 

Adjudication  Only  (See  Juvenile  Court  Law) 189 

Constitutionality  of  Juvenile  Court  Law 60,  61,  70 

Conaty,  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  J.,  Address  by 209 

Crime,    Easy 34 

Crime,  What  Is   34,  35 

Crime,  Forces  Tending  to — An  Address 209 

Criminals,  Wicked  and  Kind  Hearts 33,  39,  308 

Defined     34 

!•  olsom    Break    34 

Clothing    on     Release 38 

Is  a  Man  for  All  That 308 

Dangerous  Men,  Who  Are 210 

Deaf  and  Dumb  Children  Sent  to  School.     Sec  10 165 

Decree   Declaring   Dependency   or   Delinquency 76 

Dependency  Defined  Under  Law  1903 12 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  331 

Defined  Under  Law  1905    20 

Defined  Under   Law   1911 63 

Disobedient    Children    Are 60 

Denver  Juvenile  Court 205-298 

Detention  Home  (See  Juvenile  Court  Law) — 

Described  as  Juvenile   Hall 261 

Looked    Forward    to 18 

Not  to  be  Detained  in  Without  Order  of  Court.     Rule  14 94 

Reports    Concerning    260 

Differentiation  in  Treatment  of  Boys  for  Same  Offense 102 

Discretion  of  Judge  in  Child  Placing 105,  106 

Discrimination  in  Treatment,  Story  of 102 

Disgrace,  Is  it  to  be  in  Juvenile  Court 52 

Dismissal  of  Probation  Officers  for  Disloyalty 74 

Disobedience  Is  Incorrigibility.     Law  of  1909 60,  61 

District  Attorney  in  Juvenile  Court — 

Advice  as  to  Filing  Petitions 81 

Draws  Petitions  in  Juvenile  Court 81 

Presence  Necessary  in  Contested  Matters 81 

Probation  Officers  to  Assist  in  Adult  Contributory  Cases 81 

Deaf  and  Dumb  Children  Sent  to  School.     Sec.  10 165 

Death  Penalty  for  Incorrigibility 17 

Death  Penalty,  Cases  Involving,  Juvenile  Court  no  Jurisdiction  (1903)    19 
Death  Penalty,  Cases  Involving,  Juvenile  Court  Now  Has  Jurisdiction. 

Defective  Children,   Public  School  and 27 

Defective   Homes    53 

Delinquency,    Causes    of 53 

Delinquent  Children   (See  Special  Juvenile  Court  Law  Index  Subhead 
Delinquent  Children) 

Defined    19 

Addresses   to    52 

Physical   Defects   of 53,  297 

(See  Physical,  etc.) 

Physical  Defects,  Operations  for,  the  Law 53 

Physical  Defects,  Operations  for,  Effect  of 289,  297 

Delinquent  Children.     (See  Special  Juvenile  Court  Law  Index.) 

Delinquent  Children  (a  coined  phrase) 17 

Delinquent  and  Dependent,   Little   Difference   Between 20 

Delinquent,  Decree  Declaring  Child  a 76 

Dependent  .Child,    Definition   of 176 

Dependent  Child  Cared  for  by  State 177 

Degenerates,  Cost  of  Two  to   Los  Angeles 231 

Dodds,  Capt.  A.  C,  as  Chief  Probation  Officer 20S.  2(K).  210 

Report  of  Dec.  1,  1903,  to  Dec.  1,  1910..  ..258 


332  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

Economic  Motive  in  Reform 47.  108 

Economy  and  Cost 29,  108,  124,  231,  235 

Education,  See  Schools,  Truants,  Morals 243,  244,  247,  261 

Education,   Religious  Necessary 73 

Eighteen,  Persons  Over,  How  Prosecuted 77 

Encouragement  to   Boys 113 

England,  Progress  in  Reformation  Work 124 

Environment,  Children  Better  Than 40 

Environment,  Children  Reformed  in  Their  Own 200 

Escaped  Children,  How  Brought  Into  Court 76 

Evolution  from  Juvenile  Court 1 1,  97,  299 

Examination  of  Witnesses  by  Juvenile  Court  Judge 80 

Examination,  Physical.     (See  Physical  Examination.) 

Expedition  of  Hearings 80 

Expulsion  from  Public  Schools 25 

Expense.      (See    Economy,    Cost) 231 

Extension  of  Probation  Period 89 

Eyes,   Irritability  Caused  by   Defective 288 

FALSE  NOTIONS  CONCERNING  JUVENILE  COURT. 

False  Notions  Concerning  Juvenile  Court — 

Court    of    Honor 97 

Disgrace  to  Child 52,  96,  97 

Fad     7,  1 1 

Judges  Duty  to  Avoid  Advice 101 

Not  a  Court  at  All 100 

Too    Much    Power 107 

Fees,  None  in  Juvenile  Court 70 

Fees,  None  in  Compulsory  Education,  Truancy  Cases.     Sec.  6 161 

Felony  Cases,  Number  of  in  Juvenile  Court 95 

First  Offenders,  Who  Are 54 

Floater  or  Suspended  Sentence 71 

Foundlings,  Care  of 181,  182,  184 

Neglect  of    182 

State  Did  for 182 

Folsom  State  Prison 261 

Forgiveness 98 

Fresno,  Only  County  Orphanage  at 185 

Friend,  State  a 22 

Future  of  Juvenile  Court,  Problem  Stated ' 96,  97 

Gambling  House,  Children  Not  to  be  Sent  to.     Sec.  273f 155 

Gates,  W.  A.,  Address  by 49 

Girls'  Examination  of  as  Witnesses,  by  Judge 80 

Girls'  Examination  by  Woman   Physician 81 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  333 

God,  Responsibility  to  Should  be  Taught 72,  214 

Good  in  the  Worst  of  Us 1 19 

Graphic  Records  of  Children,  How  Kept 54,  89 

Sample  of  Good  Graphic  Record 88 

Sample  of  Bad  Graphic  Record 88 

Growth  of  Work  of  Juvenile  Court  in  Nine  Years 95,  108 

Habits,  Good  as  Well  as  Bad 54 

Half  Orphans.     (See  Orphans,   Dependent  Children) 178 

Hereditv  Not  Decisive 122 

History  of  Child  Labor  Law 190 

History  of  Adult  Probation  Law 233 

History  of  Juvenile  Law  in  California 11,  12,  1 18 

Historv  of  Juvenile  Law  in  Los  Angeles  County 205 

A  Look  Forward 1 1 ,  97,  299 

Features  of  Juvenile  Court  Law 13 

Humane  Law,  Foundation  of      ) 

Juvenile    Court    Law \     12,    13 

Legislation  Traced    ) 

New  and  Old  Contrasted 5,  15,  22,  118 

New  and  Old  Contrasted  Adult   Probation   Law 233,  237 

Nine  Years  in  Juvenile  Court 95 

Non-partisanship 67 

Old  Law  Evaded  to  Save  Children 5,  11 

Old  Plan,  The 5,  11,  12,  15,  17,  18,  22,  32,  34,  118 

Specific  Instance   5 

Work  Under  Law  of  1903  as  Reported  to  Governor 8 

Homes,  Defective  Home,  Percentages 7 

Homes,  Defective 20,  27 

Homes,   Neglected    214 

Homes,  Children  to  be  Kept  in  Their  Own. 

Home  Finding 87,  104,  185.  204 

Home   Finding  as  Against  Orphanages 185 

Honor,    Court    of 97 

Honor,  Placing  Children  on,  Discussed 98.  1 11 

Hope    Hall    313 

Hospitals  for  Defective  Children 

Humane  Society   .  .24,  204 

Law  of  1877,  Foundation  of  Our  Juvenile  Court   Law 

And   Juvenile    Court 

Co-operation     with     

Hunsaker,  W.  J.      Introduction  by 

Illegitimate   Children    Healthy 

Parentage  of  

Incorrigible  Children.     (See  Children.) 


334  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

Incorrigible  Children  17,  20,  53 

Incorrigible  Criminals  237 

Indeterminate  Sentence 44,  45,  124,  213 

Immoral  Places,  Children  Under  18  Not  to  be  Sent  to 155 

Insane  Patients,  Probation  for.     By  Judge  Geo.  H.  Hutton 323 

Institutions — 

Probation  Officers  to  Avoid  Expense  of  When  Possible 72,  104 

Probation  Officers,  Duties  as  to  Children  in 75 

Children  In,  How  Brought  Into  Court 76 

Institution  Is  Home 104 

Institutionalizing  of  Children 104,  187,  200 

Instructions  to  Probation  Officers  in  1909 56 

Instructions  to  Probation  Officers  in  1912 75 

Instructions  to  Probation  Committee  as  to  Nomination  of  Probation 

Officers,  1911  66 

(See  Probation  Officers.) 

Irritability  of  Children 273,  279 

Irritability  of  Boys,  Physical  Basis  for,  Address 283 

Jails,  Empty  Profitable  36 

Jails.     (See  Juvenile  Court  Law  (Index.) 

Jails,  Inadequate  36 

Jails,  Children  Not  to  be  Placed  in  Without  Order 94 

Jails  and  Probation  Contrasted 232 

Jordan,  Dr.  David  S.  to  Whittier  (Reform)  School  Cadets 29 

Judge  of  Juvenile  Court.     (See  Juvenile  Court  Law  in  Index.) 

Commended 208 

Duty  of 59,  83,  101,  107,  126,  127 

Delegates  Power  of  Nomination  of  Probation  Officers  to  Proba- 
tion Committee   266 

Examination  of  Witnesses  by,  Advantage  of 80 

Examination  of  Witnesses  by,  Disadvantage  of 80 

Friendship  of  55 

Loyalty  to   74 

Personality  of 32,  48,  59 

Selected  Law    82,   131 

Judge,  Aphorisms  by   168,   173,   174 

Judge  Juvenile  Court,  Advice  Should  Not  be  Asked 81,  101 

Judge,  Probation  Officers  Not  Send  Persons  to 82 

Appeal  to  from  Decision  of  Probation  Officer 83 

And  Probation  Office  Generally 83 

Difficulties  of  Judge's  Problem 100 

Judicial  Determination  Before  State  Aid  Advisable 179 

Judgment,    Effect   of 75 

Jury,  Conviction  by  Three-fourths  Advocated 206 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  335 

Justices  of  Peace,  Act  as  Juvenile  Court  Judges — 

Under  Law  of  1903 21 

But  Not  Now  (Note) 21 

Juvenile  Court,  Probation  Officers'  Impressions  of 265 

Juvenile  Court,  First  Adopted  in  Chicago 44 

False  Notions  Concerning  (Not  a  Fad).     (See  False) 11 

Spread   of  Idea 44 

With  Special  Reference  to  Its  Ramifications  (an  Address) 200 

Juvenile  Court  Law.     (See  Special  Index,  Post.) 
See  History  of  Juvenile  Court  Law. 
Spread   of  Juvenile   Court • 118 

Juvenile  Hall,  Los  Angeles  County,  Described 261,  263 

(See  Detention  Home,  Parental  School.) 

JUVENILE  COURT  LAW  OF  1911. 

Adult  Contributory  Law.     Sec.  26 146 

Appointment  of  Probation  Committee.     Sec.  6 133 

Appointment  of  Juvenile  Court  Judge  by  Judges 131 

Appointment  of  Probation  Officers 138 

Arrest,   When.      Sec.   4 132 

Board  of  Supervisors — 

To   Provide   Detention   Home.     Sec.  25 145 

To  Maintain  Detention  Home.     Sec.  8 134 

To  Appoint  Superintedent  and  Matron.     Sec.  25 145 

On  Nomination.     Sec.  25 145 

Citation,  How  Issued  and  How  Served.     Sec.  4 131 

Who   Served  Upon.      Sec.   4 132 

Committee.      (Sec   Probation   Committee.) 

Construction   of   Law.     Sec.  27 146 

Contempt,  Disobedience  of  Citation  Orders 132 

Contributing  to  Dependency  and  Delinquency  of  Children.     Sec.  26.  ..146 
Criminal  Cases,  Discretion  to  Trial  as  Juvenile 141 

Delinquent  Persons — 

All   Persons  Under  21   Committing  Crime.     Sec.  1 131 

Psychopathic    Parole   Society 323 

Probation  and  the  Child.      By  John  L.   Maile 322 

All   Persons  Under  21,  Over  18,  How  Treated.     Sec.   18 141 

All    Persons  Under  21,  Over  18,  After  Conviction.    Sec.   18 141 

Under   18   Brought    Before  Justice  Court.     Sec.   16 139 

Certified   to  Superior   Court.      See.    16 139 

Concurrent  Jurisdiction   Between   18  and  21   Years.     Sec.  17  and   18 

140.    142 

Discretion    of    Court    in    Disposing    of.      Sec.    5.    Sec.    18.    Sec.    20 

..132,    141,    142 


336  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

Exclusive    Jurisdiction    in    Juvenile    Court    Under    18.      Sec.    16, 

Sec.   17 139,   141 

If  Found  Over  18,  May  Be  Returned.     Sec.   16 139,  140 

May  Be  Sent  to  State  Schools.    Sec.  5,  18,  20 132,  141,  142 

May  Be  Sent  to  Private  Institutions.     Sec.  5,  18,  20 132,  141,  142 

May  Be  Sent  to  or  Placed  in  Homes.    Sec.  5,  18,  20 132,  141,  142 

Dependent  Children,  Who  Are 

All  Persons  Under  21  Who  Are.  Sec.  1 129 

Bad  Associates,  Sub.  8,  9 130 

Beggars,  Sub.  1  and  2 129,  130 

Destitute,   Sub.  6,   Sub.    13 130 

Disobedient,  Sub.   11 130 

Drunkard,   Sub.    15 130,    131 

Father  Dead  and  Child  Destitute,  Sub.  13 130 

Father  Drunkard  and  Child  Destitute.     Sub.   13 130 

Father  Abandoned  and  Child  Destitute,  Sub.  13 130 

Father  Dead  and  Child  in  Danger,  Sub.  13 130 

Father  Drunkard  and  Child  in  Danger,  Sub.   13 130 

Father  Abandoned  and  Child  in  Danger,  Sub.  13 130 

Father  and  Mother  Unable  to  Support,  Sub.   13 130 

Father  and  Mother  Dead  and  Child  in  Danger,  Sub.  13 130 

Father  and  Mother  Dead  and  Child  Destitute,  Sub.  13 130 

Guardianship   Children  Without,  Sub.   5 130 

Habitual  User   of  Opium,   Cocaine,   Morphine,   Cigarettes,   Drugs 

Sub.    15    131 

Habitual  Truant  Under  Compulsory  Education  Law,  Sub.  14 130 

Sec.     5 158 

Homes   Unfit,   Sub.  7 130 

Incorrigible,    Sub.    12 130 

In  Danger  From  Any  Cause,  Sub.  16 131 

Over  14  and  Refuses  to  Attend  School  as  Directed  by  Parents, 

Sub.    14    130 

Saloon  and  Pool  Room  Loungers,  Sub.  10 130 

Vagrants,    Sub.    3 130 

Vagrants,  Wandering,   Sub.   4 130 

Expenses     Probation  Officer,   How   Paid.     Sec.   10,   11 137 

Probation  Committee,  How  Paid.     Sec.   12 137 

Dentention  Home  Committee,  How  Paid.     Sec.  25 145 

Maintaining   Children   on    Probation.     Sec.   21 144 

Parents  to  Pay  Expense  of  Children.     Sec.  21 144 

Maintaining  Children  in   Institutions.     Sec.  21 144 

Fees,  None  for  Filing  Petition.     Sec.  3 131 

Hearing  Summary.     Sec.   4 132 

Disposition    Pending    Hearing.      Sec.   4 132 

Private,    When.      Sec.    23 ..145 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  337 


Indictment  of  Information  in  Case  of  Person  Over  18  and  Under  21 

Sec.   18   141 

May   Be   Dealt   With,    Is   Delinquent   or   Dependent    Before   Con- 
viction.    Sec.    18 141 

Or  After  Conviction.     Sec.  18 142 

Incorrigible,   a   Dependent.      Sec.    1 130 

Incorrigible,  After  Committment.     Sec.  20 143 

Jail,  Children  Under  16  Xot  to  Be  Sent  to,  When.  Sec.  24 145 

Jail,  Children  Under  16  Xot  to  Be  Sent  With  Adults.    Sec.  24 145 

Judge  of  Juvenile  Court,  How  Selected.     Sec.  2 131 

Judge  of  Juvenile  Court,  When  to  Act  as   Committee  or   Magistrate 

Sec.  20   143 

Jury  Trial,  How  Avoided,  Person  Between  18-21.     Sec.  18 141 

Marriage,  Effect  of  on   Probation.     Sec.  20 143 

Notice  24  Hours.     Sec.  4,  Sec.  17 132,  140 

Notice,   Who   Entitled   to.     Sec.   4 132 

Oath  of  Member  of  Probation  Committee.     Sec.  6 133 

Orders 

Pending  Hearing.     Sec.  4,   Sec.   19 132,    142 

Final    Orders.      Sec.    5 132 

Disobedience    Contempt.      Sec.   4 132 

Committment   to    Private    Person 132 

Committment    to    Whittier 132 

Committment   to    Preston    132 

Committment    Until    21 132 

May    Be    Modified.      Sec.    5 132 

For  Payment  by  County          ) 
Good  for  Six  Months  Only     j    ' 

Probation  Committee 

Members  Appointed  by  Juvenile  Court  Judges.     Sec.  6 

Term  of  Four  Years.     Sec.  7,  Sec.  6 133 

Term    Fixed   by    Court.      Sec.    7 133 

Vacancies    Filled    by   Judge's    Appointment.      Sec.    6 

Vacancies    Filled   for   Unexpircd  Term.      Sec.   7 ..134 

Citizens  of  Good   Moral   Character.      Sec.  6 133 

Good    Moral    Character.      Sec   6 133 

Duty   to  Examine   Into   Institutions   When  Ordered.     See.  8 134 

Examine   All    Institutions   Annually.      Sec   8 

To  Exercise  Supervision 

Over  Children   \Vlu-n   Directed   by  Judge.      Sec.  8 134 

Or    Probation    Officer.      Sec.   8 134 

To   Advise   the    Court   When    Changes    Xeeded   in   Order   Concern- 
ing child.     Sec.  8 134 


338  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

Manage   Internal  Affairs  of  Detention  Home.     Sec.  8 134 

Nominate  Probation  Officers  to  Judge.     Sec.  13 137 

Nominate  Officers  of  Detention   Home.     Sec.  25 145 

Compensation,  to  Serve  Without.     Sec.  9 134 

Traveling    Expenses    Allowed.      Sec.    9 134 

Probation  Officers — See  Probation  Officers 

Appointment    of.      Sec.    13 137 

On  Nomination  of  Probation  Committee.     Sec.  13 137 

Expenses  of,  Paid  on  Order  of  Judge.     Sec.  12 137 

Devote  Entire  Time  to  Work.     Sec.   13 137 

Paid  Probation  Officer  Not  to  Be  Candidates  for  Office.  Sec. 13..  137 

Not  to  Be  Related  to  Judge  or  Committee.     Sec.  13 137 

Duty  to   Investigate.     Sec.   15 137 

Duty  Not  to  Investigate  Children  in  Approved  Institutions. 

Sec.    15     137 

Powers  of  Peace  Officer.     Sec.  15 137 

Powers  of  School  Attendance  Officer.     Sec.  15 137 

Chief  Probation  Officer  to  Direct.     Sec.  15 137 

Bringing  Children  on   Probation   Before  Court.     Sec.   15 137 

School   Attendance    Officer.      Sec.    15 137 

Procedure    Where     Proceedings    Started    in    Justice     Court,     Person 

Under  18  Years  of  Age.     Sec.   16 139 

To   Be   Certified  to  Juvenile   Court.     Sec.    16 139 

Form  of  Certificate.     Sec.    16 139 

To  Be  Returned  to  Justice  Court  When.     Sec.  16 139,  140 

Disposition    Pending   Hearing.      Sec.    16 139 

Conclusive  Determination  of  Age  Where.     Sec.  16 139 

If  Between  18  and  21  Juvenile  Court  May  Retain.     Sec.  16 140 

Procedure  Where  Juvenile  Court  Determines  Person  Not  a  Fit  Sub- 
ject Under  Act.     Sec.  16,  Sec.   17 140,   141 

Records  of.     Sec.  2 131 

Warrant  When  and   How   Issued.     Sec.  4 132 

Whittier  and  Preston  State  Schools 

Committments  to.     Sec.  5,  page  132;  Sec.  20 143 

Laws  Concerning,  How  far  Continued  in  Force.     Sec.  28 147 

Contagious   Disease,   Person   Suffering   From   Not  to   Be   Sent   to 

Sec.  20   144 

Children  Under  Eight  Years  Not  to  Be  Sent  to.     Sec.  20 144 

Kindness — See  Probation  Officers 

Klamroth,   IT.   H.,  Chairman   Pro.   Com.,  Address  by 208 

Labor,  Child  Law — See  Child  Labor  Law  Index 
Labor  Permits  Under  Child  Labor  Law 

When    Granted   by   Juvenile    Court    Judge 82 

Legislation   Needed    206 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  339 

Length  of  Probation  Term  Permissible 87,  89 

Length  Under  Adult  Contributory  Law 89 

Letter,  Amusing  Letter  From  Convict  Asking  Parole 42 

Legislation  Leading  Up  to  Juvenile  Court  Law  in  California 12,  13 

Leniency,  Is  the  Law  too  Lenient 

Discussion     9 

Liberty    33,  42 

Preserved   by   Law    33 

Lindsey,  Judge  Ben   B 16,  32,  65 

Life   Imprisonment  for   Incorrigible   Criminals   Advocated 207 

Livitical    Law,    Concerning    Incorrigible 17 

Lord's   Prayer  by  Convict   (Poem) 236 

Loyalty  of  Probation  Officers  to  Court  and  Law 73 

Love  for   Prisoners  and   Probationers 48,  98 

Law,  Strong  Arm  of  to  Punish  and  Befriend 22 

Lawyers   in   Juvenile    Court 79 

Helpful     16 

Law,  Purpose  of  as  to  Misdemeanors 78 

Law,  Enforcement  of  Laws  Concerning  Children 205 

Law,   Enforcement  of  Laws   Essential 220 

Los  Angeles  County,  Saving  by  Juvenile  Court 247 

Los  Angeles  County,  Cost  of  Reform  School  Committments 264 

Making  Good,  Ex  Convicts  Are 311,  315 

Malnutrition  in   Delinquents    99,    184 

Medical  Side  of  Juvenile  Court  Work   (Address) 295 

See   Physician,  Physical 

Midwives    183 

Misdemeanors,   in   Country,   Law   of   191 1 78 

Messenger   Boys 52,   53 

Messenger  Boys  and  Delivery   Boys  Not  to  Be  Sent  to  House  of 
Prostitution,   etc.      Sec.   273 155 

Methods — 

Generally    72 

Close  Supervision  in   Difficult   Cases 72 

Of  Appointment   of    Probation    Officers 73 

Of  Bringing  Children   Into  Court   Krom   Institutions 76 

Of  Child  Training   98 

Merit  Appointment  of  Probation  Officers  on 73.  84 

Retaining    Position    by 73 

Dismissal     on     74 

Modification  of  Orders,   How  Secured 75.  76,  82,  83 

Written   Application  for 79.  82.  83.  91.  92 

Moral   Turpitude,    Measuring 1"2 

Moral  Education  Essential;   Address..  212,  216 


340  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

Moral   Conduct  and   Physical   Defects 271 

Mother  (See  Parents,  Children),  Bad 27,  110 

New  Haven  Colony  Law  Concerning  Incorrigible  Children 17 

New  York  Foundling  Asylum  Commended 183 

New  York  City  Juvenile  Court,  Physical  Examinations  in 298 

Novel  Reading,  Effect  of   54 

Nourishment  99,  270 

Nourishment  to  Foundlings   183 

Nourishment    to    Foundlings 184 

Nourishment  and  Teeth    281 

Nourishment,  Cases  Showing  Effect  of  Poor 289 

Nourishment,   Effect   of   Poor 295 

Obscene  Literature,  Concerning   54,  58 

Offenders,  First,  Who  Are 54 

Offenders,  First,  Reformatory  for 49 

Operations,   Surgical,   Under   Law 53,   54 

Orders  of  Court 

Modification  of  75,  91,  92 

To   Probation   Officers    83 

Orchard,  Harry   34,   1 19 

Orphanages  and  the  State   177,  179 

Statistics    Concerning     179 

Orphanage,  One  County,  at  Fresno,  Cal 185 

Orphanages    Necessary    185 

Parents — 

•    Defection  26 

Neglect   Children    211 

We   Can't   Rely   Wholly   on 26 

Want  Help   7 

Consent  of,  Essential  Under  Law 61,  70,  107 

How   Obtained    61 

Co-operation  Essential    61,  68 

Encouraged  to  Support  Children 72 

We  Are  Dealing  With  Parents  of  Tomorrow 109 

Of   Illegitimate    Children,    Class 181 

Patience    Necessary     64 

Peace  Officers,  Co-operation  With 65,  70,  76 

Peace  Officers  Opposed  to  Probation 238 

Petitions    Prepared   by   District  Attorney 76 

Or     Probation     Officers 79 

Petitions,  Who  May  File 131,  140 

Must  State  Facts   131 

Physical   Defects,  Does   Correction   Correct   Moral   Conduct 271 

Examination    99,  262,  270,  296,  298 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  341 

Defects,   What  Are   Common 292 

How    Dealt    With    Elsewhere 298 

Only  by  Consent  of  Parents 81 

Girls  by  Women  Physicians  Only 81 

Need  of 81,  185 

Physician,  Aphorisms  by   171,   172 

Report  by   269 

Play   Grounds 195 

Private  Hearing  When  Requested     Sec.  23 145 

Problem  of  Juvenile  Court  Stated 197 

Public  Interest  Essential  in  Juvenile  Problems 201 

Public  Should  Have  Patience    240 

Public  School,  See  School 

Public  School,  Scope  to  Be  Enlarged 202 

Manual  Training  In 202 

Puberty,  Age  of  Critical 273,  282,  284,  296 

Patience  Necessary   54,  64,  98,  260 

Parental    School     18 

(See  Reports) 

Periodicity    in    Crime    54 

Parole,  From  State  Schools,  When,  How 19 

Persistence  in  Training   98 

Personal    Experience    of    Probation    Officers 265 

Preston  State  School   (See  Whittier  State  School 

Preston  State  School   5,   1 14 

Preston   State   School,   Plow  Started 114 

Prisons,  See  States  Prisons 

Address  to  by  Maud   BalHngton   Booth 306 

Population  of  in  Cal 35,  49 

Population   of   35,  36,  50 

Bad    Influence   of    46,   50 

Civilization   Judged  by    43 

Prisoners   (See  Criminals) 

Amusing  Letter  of   42 

Converted    38 

Wages    of    47 

Clothing    on    Release 38 

Paying    Board    47 

I'reach   of   Parole  by,   How   Regarded    41 

Insurrection   of  at   Folsom    34 

Parole  of   41,  42.  235 

Wicked    Hearts    33,   39 

Kind    Hearts    33,  39 

Murderous     ,  .   33 


342  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

Repentance    38,   39 

Reformation    of    34,   35,   50 

Room,   Insufficient    35,   50 

Physical   Neglect  of 16,  40,   53 

Playgrounds    40 

Police  Court,   Probation  in 70,  86 

Police  to  Be  Named  As  Voluntary  Probation  Officers 86 

Probation  Committee 

Nomination  of  Probation  Officers 66,  84,  266 

Powers    Under    Law,    1903 14 

Powers    Under    Law,    1909 266 

Powers  Under  Law,  1911 84 

Raising  Money    15 

Commended    84,   127,  205 

Prostitution,  Girls  Under  21   66 

Probation  for  Petty  Offenders,  Adult 71 

Probation,  Length  of  Term 87,  90 

Probation,  Extension  of  Term  When   Desirable 89 

Probation,  Violation   of 89 

Juveniles  Working  Off  of 89 

Probation    and   Jail    Contrasted    232 

PROBATION  OFFICERS 

Appointment  of 14,  56,  66,  75,  266 

Arrests   by    57 

Appeals  to  Judge  From   83 

Adults,  Officers  for   85 

Assist  District  Attorney  in  Adult  Contributory  Cases 81 

Burdens  of 

Bluffing  by   58 

Children,  Must  Understand  Them 71,  72 

Civil    Service    84 

Duties  of  Generally 57,  68,  69,  71,  91,  et  seq.,  107,  224,  225,  226,  227 

Duties  of,  As  Defined  in  Law 68,  69 

Efforts  of 

Experimenting   by    62 

Experiences    of    265 

Firmness    22,    71 

Friendship   22,  71,  97 

Graphic  Cards,  Marking 89 

Hints  and  Suggestions  by 169,  242,  265 

Initiative    by     58,    71 

Instructions    to   in    1909 56 

Instructions  to  in  1912  .  75 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  343 

Instructions  Concerning  66,  266 

Judge  and  Probation  Officer,  Different  Viewpoint 59 

Kindness    57 

Knowledge  Needed  71,  93 

Labor  Permits  to  Be  Open  to  Inspection  of.     Sec.  2 149 

Marriage,  Duties  Concerning  Marriage  of  Wards 57 

Non- Partisan    66 

Number    of     72 

Patience   Necessary    54 

Politics,  out  of 66,  73,  84 

Qualifications   of   in    General 71 

Reports  and  Applications  for  Orders  to  Be  in  Writing 79 

Saving  Children    57 

Spirit  of   63 

Supervision  by   5,  67,  72 

Supervision   by,    First    Few   Weeks    Close 72 

Voluntary  Probationers   48 

Public  Opinion  to  Sustain  Juvenile  Court  Work 7,  14 

Public  Schools,  See  Schools,  Truancy. 

Punishment,   None  in  Juvenile  Court 173 

Punishment   in   Juvenile    Court 99 

Punishment,    Old    Fashioned 1 18 

Prisoners — 

Wages   of    47 

Probation    in    Pasadena    207 

Purpose  of  Ju/enile  Court  Law  Stated 14,  16,  22 

Purpose  of  Juvenile  Court  Law  Stated  by  Supreme  Court 90 

Purpose  of  Juvenile  Court  Law  Stated  by  Legislature.     Sec.  27 146 

Problems  in  Juvenile   Court  Difficult 100 

Procedure  in  Juvenile  Court  Cases 100 

Proselyting  to   Be   Avoided 72,   73,  215 

Prostitution,  House  of 

Minors  Under  18  Not  to  Be  Sent  To.     273  f 155 

Prostitution    215,  303 

Reasonable    Doubt   Doctrine,    Reason   for 33 

Reporting.  Children  to   Probation  Officer 55 

Reporting,  Children  to  Court  as  Last  Resort 54,  55 

Reports  of  Probation  Officer  to  Be  in  Writing 83,  91,  92 

Reformatory    for    Adults 50 

Reform    Without    Prison    35,   45 

Reform  of  Criminals  Necessary 34.  35,  50.  51 

Reformation  a   Big  Problem 35 

Restitution  by   Probationers  and  Convicts 45 

Relea>e.    Pending    Hearing  in   Juvenile   Court.      Rule    15 .   94 


344  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

Religion — 

Duties  of  Probation  Officer  Concerning 72,  73 

Duties  of  Probation  Officer  Non-Sectarian 72 

Essential  72,  73,  202,  203,  209 

Religious   Instruction    Necessary 72,  217,  219 

Respect  for  Authority  Should  Be  Taught 74 

Runaway  Children,  Sending  for 93 

Rules  for  Guidance  of  Probation  Officers 91 

Report  at  8:30  a.  m 91 

Reports  in  Writing 91,  91 

Investigation  by    91 

Assignment  of  91 

Instructions  by 91 

Graphic  Cards    91 

Reports  Intemperate  Language  to  Be  Avoided 91 

Modification  of  Orders   91 

Republic,   Cal.   George,   Jr 102 

Rewards  and  Punishments  in  Juvenile  Court 99 

REPORTS 

Reports  for  Year  1904 250 

Reports  for  Year  1905 126  et  seq.  250 

Reports  for  Year  1908. 252 

Dec.  1,  1903,  to  Dec.  1,  1910 258 

Memorandum  Report  to  Dec.,  191 1 260 

Memorandum  Report  from  May,  1903,  to  Dec.,  1908 248,  249 

Memorandum  Report  from  January  1,  1909,  to  July  1,  1909 255 

Number  Committed  to  Whittier  1903-1911 260 

Number  in  Detention  Home  During  1911 260 

Number  in  Parental  School  During  1911 260 

Cost  to  Los  Angeles  County,  Whittier  and  Preston  1904  to  191 1 264 

Physician    ' 269,  274 

Physician  on  Teeth 279 

Salaries,  Comparative  Cost,  Custody  and  Probation 261 

Salary,  of  Teachers 28 

Salary  in  Orphanages,  Average 179 

Saloons— Minors  Under  18  Not  to  Be  Sent  to.     Sec.  273f 155 

(See  Dependent  Child.) 

Sentiment  vs.  Sense 35,  229,  239,  240 

San  Quentm  State   Prison.     See  Prison 261 

San  Quentin,  Address  to  Prisoners  in  by  Mrs.   Booth 306 

School.     See  Truancy. 

Public  to  Help  Defective  Children 27,  29,  198 

Bad   Children    Should    Be   in..  29 


Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers  315 

In  Detention  Home,  How  Managed 262 

First  Public  School  in  Detention  Home  in  Los  Angeles. 

Sex  Instruction  in    27 

Sentimentality  vs.  Sense  in  Treatment  of  Criminals 35 

Sex   Problem    27,  206,  300 

Sex  Instruction  to  Children,  How 27,  206,  273 

Address  on,  by  Dr.  Geo.  E.  Abbott 300 

Sin,  Original    35,   122,  279 

Sour    Grapes    Eaten    122 

Scholarship  Fund  in  Case  of  Child  Labor 82 

School,  Attendance  at.     (See  Truancy.) 

School,   Attendance   at 16 

School,  Importance  of  in  Juvenile  Court  Work 19 

School,   Expulsion   from 25,  29 

Special  Schools,  for  Special  Cases 29,  55 

Sentence.     (See  Prisoner,  Term  of.) 

Indeterminate    44,  45 

Short   Objectionable    46 

Sex  Problem.     (See  Schools.) 200 

State,  a  Friend  to  Child 22,  113,  124,  189 

State,  a  Guardian  of 189 

State,  Board  of  Charities  and  Corrections.     (See  Board,  etc.) 
State,  Board  of  Examiners.     (See  Board,  etc.) 
State  Prisons.     (See  Prisons,  Folsom,  San  Quentin.) 
Statistics.     (See  Reports.) 

Economy   108,  109,  261 

State,  Aid  for  Orphanages 177,   178 

Child   Labor,  in   California 193 

Story  of  a  Very  Bad  Boy  Reformed 102,   103,  289 

Story  of  a  Boy  Who  Started  to  Be  Good  Because  it  Was  Hard 120 

Story  of  Digging  in  a  Vineyard  for  Wealth 121 

Story,   Adult    Probationer    240 

Story,    Boy's   Teeth 279 

Supreme  Court,  Decisions  by 61,  70,  71,  89,  90 

Constitutionality   of  Juvenile   Court    Law 70 

Sunday  School  and  Church 205 

State   Board  Charities  and  Corrections 49,  87,  179,  189 

Approved   Home   Finding  Agencies 87 

State's   Prison,  Small   Boys  in 11,  50 

State's   Prison,  Character  of  Guards  in 38.  39.  40 

Stories,  Concerning  Guards  in 38,  39.  40 

Strickland,   Mrs.,   Home  for   Boys 290 

Surgical  ( )perations.  Under  Law 53.  54 

Sympathy   for  Offenders 35,  229 


346  Report  and  Manual  for  Probation  Officers 

Teeth,  Does  Abnormal  Condition  Affect  Delinquency,  Address.  .  .277,  285 

Term  of  Probation  Under  Sec.  1203  Penal  Code 87 

Term  of  Probation  Under  Sec.  26  Juvenile  Court  Law 88 

Tonsils,   Enlarged    99 

Traitor  to  Helping  Hand,  Story 316 

Tramps,    Boy    55 

Trouble,  Juvenile  Court  a  Court  of Ill 

Truants,  Law  Concerning 20 

Truants,  Percentage  of 7 

Truants    20,  55,  77,  218 

Truants  from  Home,  Become  Delinquents 21,  218 

Truancy  and  Delinquency 21,  218 

Truants,  Cared  for  in  Special  Schools 77 

Truants,  Defined.     Sec.  5 157 

Volunteer  Probation  Officers  for,  in  Country 77 

Training,  Children  in  Juvenile  Court  Methods 98 

Truth  Telling  Encouraged  in  Juvenile  Court 55,  72,  206 

Vagrants,  Small  Children  As 20 

Vagrants,   Punishment  for   Advocated 207 

Value  of  Juvenile  Court  Work  in  Finding  Causes  of  Crime 53 

Vengeance    237,  239 

Voluntary  Probation   48,  78 

Voluntary  Probation,  How  Far  Compulsory 78 

Voluntary  Probation,  Not  in  Serious  Cases 79 

Voluntary  Probation  Officers — 

In  Country  Districts 77 

For  Truancy  Cases 77 

For  Country  Misdemeanors 77 

Department  of  86 

Nomination  of  86 

For  Adults   234 

Volunteer  Prison  League.     (See  Address.) 306,  319 

W hittier  State  School 5,19,  264 

Parole  from,  When 19 

Commitments   to    63,  260 

Cost  in,  Compared  with  Probation 247,  261 

Whittier  State  School  and  Preston  State  School  Contrasted 5 

Cost  to  Los  Angeles  County 264 

Wilde,  Oscar,  Poem — Ballad  of  Reading  Goal 36  et  seq. 

Will,  Do  You  Will  to  Do  Right? 312 

Women  and  the  Juvenile  Court — 

Interest   of,   Necessary 18 

See   False   Ideas  Concerning  Juvenile   Court. 
Witnesses,  Examination  by  Judge,  Advantage  of 80 


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